Restless
by Jessica.Eileen
Summary: Louisa was content with her quiet life; she had her small home and her art supplies, two friends who made her thankful on a daily basis and a regular customer that made her look forward to Tuesday nights. A regular customer who happened to be a Vampire and had the most captivating eyes she had ever seen. Godric / OC.
1. the Vampire in the Restaurant

**Restless  
Chapter One – the Vampire in the Restaurant **  
**Word Count** : 7,864  
 **Updated: 20/2/2016**  
 **Note** : I apologies to any fans of Chasing Ghosts, it seems I'm in a little bit of a writer's block – but I assure you all the story has not been forgotten. Back to this, I have always been a True Blood fan and I took a special liking to Godric as soon as he was introduced. I own none of the True Blood franchise – just my OC Louisa. I hope you enjoy.

 **-0-**

It was rather busy inside of the small diner that looked as if it had been pulled out of time from the 50s; the black and checked floor shone and clashed perfectly with the bright red booths that lined the walls. Louisa Marie eyed the mother of two small children as she attempted her best to keep them in their seats with complete and utter respect and smiled once they settled down as they realized their chocolate milkshakes were here. It took a lot to take two four-or-something year olds out to eat; she knew that much from working as a waitress.

"Did you need anything else before I go?" she asked

"No this will do just fine, thank you dear" the mother smiled thankfully back, her hair was tied out of her face but a few lose strands were tucked behind her ears. Louisa thought that she should have looked tired, but she didn't.

"Alright, well let me know if you change your mind"

With that she left the mother of two to her own business and returned to her spot behind the shiny white counter that sparkled when the light hit it right. For a moment all she could do was take a deep breath before releasing it slowly, knowing that she would not get a chance to do it as often as she would like heading into the 6 o'clock dinner rush. It was like the calm before the storm .As the large clock on the side wall located right next to the entrance door ticked on by she and Julie worked as best as they could considering they were down a staff member (Helen having called in sick so late that they didn't have a chance to replace her). It was tricky she had to admit, but it was work and she would be lying if she said that the good times did not outweigh the bad.

Even before Louisa had started working in the small diner she had been their nearly every single day, and each day she was ordering something different off of the varied menu. Gemma's opened relatively early and closed quite late and you could find something for anyone; even people who chose a vegan diet had a small choice. Not to mention the desert pizzas which were something that she now lived for. It was far from being a fancy restaurant but further from being a hole in the ground and that was why she liked it so much.

"I can't stand her, I can't believe she called in sick again and always at the last minute possible so we can't even get a replacement to cover her shift" Julie grunted, the blonde was standing beside her and looked positively annoyed at their current topic of conversation

"I know" she agreed with a small nod "I'm surprised Gem hasn't let her go yet, this is the second time in the past week she's called in to say she can't come in"

"She hates having to fire people – you know how she is" Julie frowned, as she did she leant onto the shiny counter before her "I'd fire her if she asked me too, I'd do it for free to – no problems at all"

"Look on the bright side, only an hour left before you get to clock off"

"Yes, lucky me and poor you! I still don't know how you do it, you're here closing every single night beside Sunday's" the blonde said in utterly disbelief "Do you ever sleep in?"

"Not really, I mean I barely even sleep as it is"

"What's it called again?"

"Insomnia"

"Man that would suck; I don't know how you do it"

"You get used to it" she replied – and it was the absolute truth. Some mornings she did miss it – the idea of waking up after a good ten or so hours and just stretching into the sheets still dazed with tiredness. But it had been nearly five years now and she could barely remember the last time she had slept more than four hours in a single night.

Gemma's Diner grew into a steady quiet as it headed into nine o'clock with only a few teenagers occupying a single corner booth, their laughter floating through the diner where only three other lone customers were spread out in random seats. Julie was practically falling asleep, her elbows supporting the weight of her head and her usual neat, tidy blonde hair spilling from her ponytail. Even then she looked gorgeous.

"You only have five more minutes" Louisa smiled "Go on, shoo"

Jules' head lifted until their eyes met "You sure?" she asked, her blue eyes bright but even still she could make out how tired she was just by gazing into them "I can stay Louisa"

"Go" she repeated with a wave "I know it takes you nearly half an hour to drive home and I don't even need to look out the window to know that your Mum is waiting across the road for you"

"Sometimes I just don't know what I would do without you" she grinned, and with that she wrapped an arm around her shoulders "You're my life saver – you know that right?" it was then that she retrieved her bag from under the counter and made her way around to the front of the diner "I'll see you next time!"

Louisa smiled as she watched her friend retreat for the night, it wasn't as if the Diner was busy after 10 o'clock anyway which was why she always closed on her own. As the hour passed she chatted away with a few of the night time regulars; Nigel with a different paperback novel every night and Sylvia who always informed her on how her garden was going. Every now and then she would get a new customer, some that she had never seen before and some that knew she had served before but it was only when the giant clock on the wall read 11:07 did she grow a little excited. The cloth she had been using to wipe down the counters was now slung over her shoulder as she retrieved a bottle of AB- Tru Blood and place it in the microwave – as it light up with life she watched the red bottle spin. While the bottle was heating she smiled at the teenagers who were now walking towards her – they paid for their hot chocolates individually which she did not mind seeing as it was dead and as soon as they had left two men in business suits entered and took the booth that was beside theirs. The notepad and pen she would usually use in the busy hours lay idly on the countertop as she made her way over towards them, forgotten and unwanted. When she approached they barely gave her a second look

"We'll call you when we're ready to order" the first said, almost lazily as he played with a menu

"No problem" she replied.

On her way back to her stationary position she could not help but smile as Nigel closer his beloved paperback and rose from his seat; dishes in hand – every night he placed them on the counter and every night she expressed her thanks. The microwave suddenly went off and as it did another regular walked through the doors, but unlike Nigel and Sylvia she did not know this man's name – but she had never really asked. She didn't need a name to remember him though, he was simply too hard to forget. If they had been standing next to one another she doubted he would be much taller than she was, short chestnut hair framed his pale face and a few tattoos could be seen from just below his shirts short sleeves. His eyes were something from another world though – different shades of blue and green bore back into her own dark brown – she would love to see them in sunlight but that would be literally impossible. He was a Vampire and the first that she has ever encountered.

It was nearly four months ago, at the exact same time and the exact same day that he had walked through the doors of Gemma's Diner and ever since then every second Tuesday he did the exact same thing. He was like a clock, ever so punctual and constant. He looked so incredibly young too and certainly no older than she was at seventeen – the thought often made her sad though she had absolutely no idea why. As the Vampire approached her she retrieved his preferred bottle of synthetic blood and the glass was still warm as she placed it before her

"Ah, you remembered" he said with a small smile

"You're incredibly punctual you know"

"As are you" he said as he pointed to his drink and it was only when he walked away did she notice that he had left his fifty dollar bill behind where the blood had been. As her eyes returned to the Vampire she was not surprised that he had claimed the very first booth beside the entrance door that looked into the dimly lit quiet street outside.

Since the very beginning of the entire Vampires coming out of the dark fiasco all she had ever heard were horrible stories concerning then, how they would drain humans of their blood but not before torturing them in the most horrific and brutal ways possible – but in her own experience the only Vampire she had ever met was nothing but kind and polite and always left a large tip. A moment after he had taken his seat she leaned against the rear counter and eyed the quiet diner – she had already wiped all of the tables down twice, their simply wasn't anything more that she could do. As she crossed her ankles she glanced back to the clock hanging on the wall; only forty-five minutes remained before she could officially shut the doors and make her way home.

"Can we grab some service?" A voice called out and a moment later she was making her way towards the two men

"What can I get you this evening?" She asked politely. Julie always told her that her customer voice was hilarious; Louisa on the other hand had absolutely no idea that she even had a customer voice to begin with.

"A coffee please, sugar" the first said; his hair was shaved and since walking into the diner a couple of minutes ago he had undone his tie so that it hung loosely around his neck. She could not help but notice the way that he eyes her up and down quickly and even though it still made her a tiny bit uncomfortable she said not a word.

"How would you like it?" she said instead

"What would you recommend?" he replied with a smirk

"I'm not much help, I don't actually drink any coffee or even tea for the matter"

"Alright, alright well I'll just have a flat white with two sugars"

"And you sir?" she turned and faced the second man

"Black, three sugars"

"Alright well, I won't be but a minute" she smiled

When she had first started working here sixth months ago she had never made coffee before, but after two weeks' worth of training she grown used to it – now she was sure she could do the task practically blindfolded. Once both of the steaming cups of coffee were sitting in two plain white mugs she placed them on some clean saucers and added spoons to the sides before expertly making her way back towards the table. As she approached the conversation the two men were having caught her attention and she could not help but listen in.

"-fangers, I had no idea this place catered for such filth, wouldn't have come her otherwise" the first man said and as he saw her approach he stopped his rant. It was none of her business so she acted as if she hadn't heard anything it all

"Will you need anything else at all tonight?" she asked as she placed the saucers on the table

"You know sugar I've been coming in here for quite some time now, and I never knew ya'll served those _monsters_ " the way he said his last word made her frown, it was rare that she ever heard someone talk with such distance and hatred

"I-" she paused, and for a moment she had no idea how to reply – the situation was rather awkward

"Don't play sly with me, that over their-" he interrupted her and pointed to where she knew the Vampire was seated "-they're abominations – demons and that's all they are ever gonna' be"

"I'm sorry sir but I can't turn away a paying customer, that'd be prejudice. You know Gemma, she owns this place, she's actually quite happy with the clientele she has, so I'm sorry sit but I have no authority and nor would I ask him to leave"

"Are you - defending those _things_?" he barked with laughter, and she could not understand why he looked so outraged

"Sir I'm just stating the policy, that's all – but if we happen to be talking about my personal views then I guess I see no problem serving anyone as long as he or she pays for what they order and are polite while doing so"

"I think we're gonna' have to find elsewhere to drink our coffee" he spat, her eyes growing wide as he drained the surely still boiling hot flat white coffee and stood to his feet. His friend followed suit and as he did she noticed that he looked rather annoyed "I have zero interest in putting my hard earned money into a business that serves fangers or tipping a waitress that's probably screwing one"

For a moment time seemed to stand still and she had no idea how to feel, throughout her six months of working as a waitress she had seen her fair share of rude customers but never, had she ever been treated so harshly before "Have a lovely night" she replied and politely at that – too politely but it had been the first thing to come into her mind "As I have zero interest in serving someone who is going to speak to me that way"

"Lot of nerve for a tiny little thing" he said from the doorway "Got a lot of nerve sugar"

"I have no intentions of getting into a pointless argument with you sir, especially over something so small. Please leave before you make a scene"

Neither he nor his friend said anything else as they left, but before he crossed the road he threw her rather vicious look to not only her but the Vampire that was still sitting in the very first booth. Instead of dwelling on the awful man she glanced to the clock and sighed in disappointment, she still had half an hour to go. Glitter caught her eye as she made her way around the counter and when she reached her favourite spot she leant her arms against the cool marble top and it was only when she was glancing around the near deserted diner when a pair of bright eyes met her dark ones. He had the most peculiar expression on his face, one that she had never seen before in the four months of serving him synthetic blood. A few moments passed before he rose to his feet, his bottle of barely touched blood left behind at the booth as he made his way slowly towards her.

Memories flashed before her eyes and they took her back four months to the past to the first night that she had served him. It had been rather busy for 11 o'clock so when he had ordered AB- she was completely and utterly shocked. But from that moment on she knew what he liked, and besides the hello here and there they had never talked to one another. For some reason she was completely and utterly nervous.

"I must admit, I am quite curious as to why you would defend me against that man" he began, his eyes never leaving hers "You do not know me little one, for all you know I very well could be the monster he said that I was"

"All he did was ask me for my opinion, so I spoke honestly. You come in here every second week, order politely and leave me an incredible tip. I've never seen those two men before and not only did they drink the coffee but they didn't pay for it, not to mention treat me awfully simply because of said opinion. If you're a monster, I think I've been reading the wrong books"

"Fascinating" he murmured "I don't think I will ever truly understand the human mind" With that he was gone, leaving her alone in the empty diner by herself – but over the next half an hour she thought nothing but of his words and silently hoped that the next two weeks would fly by quickly.

Unfortunately, they did not. Every single day (besides Sunday) she would arrive at the Diner at five minutes to 2 o'clock and each day would be very much a repeat of the day before. On the plus side she did not have another run in with the two men and when she had described them to Gemma the next day she was surprised to find that her boss was rather upset.

"If you ever see them again you have my permission to kick them the hell out" she said sternly "I won't have my staff being treated like that, I don't think so"

On the plus side, Helen had been let go. It had killed Gemma to do it – even though Helen wasn't reliable and barely showed up for her shifts, it still hurt her to let someone go. But as much as it was a plus it was also a negative – they were now down a waitress.

It was now a Saturday night, nearly two weeks after the incident with the men and the Vampire had occurred and it was one of the busiest that she had seen in weeks. Seeing as Matt was unable to work Saturday nights Louisa and Julie had not had a free second in hours. It was nearing on 11 o'clock when the steady flow of customers stopped and not for the first time was Louisa thankful that on Saturday nights she had someone with her to close.

"I really hope those two men come back in – I really do, I'd like to teach them both a lesson or two" Julie huffed, her long blonde hair was in a simple braid and fell over her shoulder as she talked "They basically called you a Vampire whore Louisa"

"It doesn't matter-"

"It so matters! If I had been here I would have thrown something large and heavy at his head. But back to the Vampire you have to tell me about him! Is he cute? Scary? Describe him to me"

It was obvious in her voice how excited she was, and even though Louisa didn't think it was a big deal she rolled her eyes playfully before she replied "Who, the guys?" she asked

"Oh don't play around with me, you know I'm talking about the Vampire" she grinned "He's a regular of yours right? When does he home in here? How often does he come in here? I want to know everything"

"Okay, okay!" Louisa laughed "Every second Tuesday he arrives at ten past eleven on the minute mark. I haven't really thought about his looks, I mean – I guess he is attractive"

"You guess?" she sighed "Details Lou, I want details"

"Short brown hair, only a little taller than I am and not much older either or so I've guessed"

"Young? How exciting! You know I still have never met a Vampire before. Anyway – I still can't believe they had the nerve to say that to you Louisa, I hope you defended yourself and defended yourself well at that"

"I didn't want to cause a scene" she said simply, but she left it at that. Even if she had grown madder, would she have said anything at all? No, probably not. It wasn't in her.

"I can't stand working Saturday nights, not even because of all of the stuff some of my friends are doing – it just gets so busy. But I guess I can't complain – look at you, what normal seventeen year old girl doesn't complain about working not only her Saturday nights but her Friday ones as well?"

"One that does not have a social life like you have" she laughed lightly "And one that needs as many shifts that she can have if she wants to keep her tiny, yet small apartment"

"I forget that you live by yourself sometimes. You know you're going to have to have me over sometimes soon – yeah! And Matty can come too, we'll have like a movie night or something-" Julie said, and as she continued to brainstorm all of the ideas for the theoretical movie night Louisa could not help but count herself incredibly lucky to have the blonde as a close friend. Without her she would be completely lost.

At the very beginning she had been cautious – in her experience girls in particular (especially ones that looked like Julie) were never so friendly and never wanted anything without receiving something in return. It had taken her a couple of weeks to warm up to her and Matt but it was something that simply couldn't be helped. Meeting such genuine people was such a rare gift in this world and it was something that she was going to hold onto for as long as she possibly could.

As they were momentarily graced with a cool down period they discussed what they usually discussed; Julie listened to Louisa talk about books even though she wasn't the biggest fan of literature and Louisa did the same for the blonde as she in return talked about what had happened on her favourite current television show. Louisa was halfway through eating her fifth chocolate covered strawberry when she heard Julie gasp, and even though Louisa had her back to the entrance she knew that gasp all too well – an attractive man had just walked into the diner.

"Let me guess, another attractive man that you simply have to marry has just walked in?" she joked and as she did she took another nibble of the large strawberry between her fingers. It was something she enjoyed though, Julie loved admiring the men that walked in and out of here.

"Attractive _Vampire_ is more like it" Julie whispered, and her words were barely audible. Louisa rolled her eyes, there was no way it could possibly be her Tuesday Vampire – he only came in on Tuesday's and the idea of him coming in on a Saturday was simply odd. She heard Julie's footsteps as she walked over to the counter to take his order; well at least now she can say she has officially met a Vampire.

"A bottle of AB negative, please"

Louisa was halfway through taking a bite of her strawberry and without even thinking she turn around to face the familiar voice. He was dressed in what he always wore; light cotton t-shirt with matching pants and in that moment he was staring directly at her with a slight smirk on his face. It was then that she remembered the strawberry and she grew incredibly embarrassed having being caught midway through chewing.

"It seems as if you're not as punctual tonight" he commented quietly

"I guess you're right, I'm just not used to seeing you in here on a Saturday night"

"I guess you are right" for a moment he lowered his gaze, it was then that Julie passed him his drink – he said a quiet thankyou before walking over and claiming his usual seat near the window.

Louisa felt Julie's stare and refused to meet the blonde's eyes, still too caught up with the fact that he had broken his routine to begin with.

"Excuse me, what was _that_ " the blonde whispered harshly "Is that your vampire?"

Yes, she knew it – she was blushing as red as a tomato. _Her Vampire_ – he wasn't her Vampire.

"He isn't-" Louisa whispered, her face still feeling hot at the choice of words her close friend had used "He can hear everything you're saying right this second you know"

"He is cute" Julie grinned, choosing to ignore her words "You were not wrong about that"

Oh god – this could not get any worse "I never said – can you please stop Jules. Okay how about you go back over to that table of teenage boys you were eyeing off before and see if they are ready to order yet? You were going to jump their bones before he walked in"

That was all that was needed – with her new mission in mind Julie walked steadily over to the booth, a strand of her long blonde hair between her fingers as she did. In her time of knowing her she knew deep down that the girl was nervous – a habit she had picked up on after only a month of working with her. By the time she came back Louisa had was on her seventh strawberry.

"One of the guys that gave me his number" she giggled as she held up a piece of paper – the numbers were small and were written in blue ink "He said I was cute"

"Are you going to use it?" She asked

"Hmm, maybe. You should go over – who knows, maybe one day we may even double"

"Definitely not" Louisa laughed awkwardly "I'll leave that stuff up to you"

"Why?" Julie asked seriously "Louisa, you are absolutely gorgeous even in these uniforms of ours and I can only imagine what your hair would look like if you wore it down for once. Honestly, so many of the guys that come in here try and flirt with you but you're just too obvious to notice!"

"Can we talk about something else?" she begged

"What kind of seventeen year old girl is not interested in boys?" Julie asked, more or so to herself than to Louisa (or so she thought) "I'm slowly giving up on you. You don't sleep, you don't go out, you don't go to school – oh shit, I'm sorry – I know that it's a rough subject I just didn't think is all. I mean you don't date, all you seem to do is work these crazy hours here"

"Jules just leave it" she sighed, leaving very little room for argument.

"Right" Julie sighed "You always say that"

Louisa didn't like talking about things, and Julie did – it was something she had slowly grown used to over the past sixth months but that still didn't change the fact that she still didn't like talking. Books were fine, art, media and even the odd celebrity here and now. There were just some subjects she would not talk about. At first she had thought Julie was just sticking her nose into places where it didn't belong, so she held her guard up and refused to let her in – that was until she realized that it wasn't like that at all. Julie cared, and in the end she only wanted her happiness. But that was it, she _was happy_. Wasn't she?

"I get that you worry about me, you don't have to say it out loud. But I am happy Jules, and in the end it really doesn't take much for me to be happy anyway. I'm simple, I always have been and you know that" Louisa smiled

"You're right, I do worry about your happiness" Julie nodded "And I know I'm on your back a lot – I just – it doesn't matter" she grinned with a small shake of her head. It was then that her focus was back on the table of teenagers who were now the last customers in the store besides the Vampire.

As Louisa looked at his pale form sitting beside the window her eyes crept down to his untouched bottle of blood – she frowned at this. Why would he come in here as often as he did if he was just going to sit at the table and not drink what he had ordered? It floated around in her mind as she watched him from her favourite spot against the counter. How long she had been staring she would never know, but by the time she realized what she had been doing she turned red once more as their eyes met one another. For the second time she felt her cheeks burn, so she turned and reached for the cloth and set out to clean the already pristine tables.

"Can't be much closer now" she mumbled to herself as she bent over a table "Jules – what time is it?"

A couple of moments passed by and when she did not hear a reply she frowned. Louisa looked behind her and saw that Julie was not behind the counter, but standing beside the table of what looked to be eighteen or nineteen year olds. They were all dressed rather similar in their jeans, khaki pants and t-shirts rolled at the sleeves. It took her a moment to notice his hand and how he was trying to tug her into the booth beside him, a moment later he was successful. When she tried to stand to her feet he tugged her back down and only then did he wrap an arm protectively around her shoulders effectively keeping her in place. Courage was not one of the attributes she would ever use to describe herself, but her feet were moving before she had a chance to think about what she was even going to say as she made her way towards the booth which was now far too crowded to be considered comfortable.

"Hello" she began with a rather forced smile "I'm sorry guys but I need to borrow Julie, we need to start closing and it's something I just can't do by myself"

"We're busy" the guys spoke, the one that had tugged her into the booth beside him. His brown hair was combed back with gel and the leather jacket he wore was far too big "C'mon, you had to have noticed that"

"I really am sorry, but look I have your number and I'll give you a call sometime" Julie said. It was then that Louisa looked at her, really looked at her – she looked completely and utterly uncomfortable and it didn't take a genius to know that her words had been a lie

"C'mon gorgeous you were so keen before! Hey, look I'm sure you can close up shop by yourself doll" the brunette said with a wink. Louisa had barely seen it, she had been too busy looking at her friend.

"We need to close up, that's why the two of us are here after all"

"Well I don't want her to leave just yet" he argued, as he spoke he eyed his friends who all nodded in agreement "You're more than welcome to join us you know, you ain't too hard on the eyes either"

"Thanks, but no thanks – we really have to work. Now c'mon, let my friend up and then I think you guys may want to head off. I accidentally locked the registers so we won't be able to take any more orders – don't worry about the milkshakes though, they're on the house" It had been a complete and utter lie, but she felt as if it was necessary. This time she did not bother to force a smile as she gently grabbed a hold of Julie's arm and helped her to her feet – this time the brunette did not bother to pull her back. To say she was relieved was putting it lightly.

Once they were both out of earshot she heard Julie release her breath "Thank you, thank you – they just wouldn't leave me alone. And to think I thought that he was cute! I've definitely had a change of heart"

"You're gorgeous Jules – I'm not saying that it's an acceptable excuse but-" Louisa stopped short, unable to finish the rest of her sentence as she felt a hand wrap around her upper arm and pull her backwards. For a moment she was not in Gemma's diner with her friend, she was elsewhere and she was completely and utterly scared. A cry in pain broke her from her thoughts and only then did she realize what she had done – unknowingly elbowing whoever had grabbed a hold of her arm in the face. It was a shocking sight. The brunette who had grabbed Julie was kneeling on the floor and blood was seeping through his fingers. She felt sick – she had done that? Of course he was a jerk and he deserved far more than what she had done, but not by her hands.

"You stupid – stupid bitch!" he cried from beneath his hands "You broke my fucking nose!"

His blood stood out so clearly against the whiteness of his shirt and more guilt crashed into her like a tidal wave. Movement caught her eye from ahead and it was then that she remembered that this guy hadn't been alone, that he had a table full of friends who did not look too pleased at what she had just done.

"Julie" Louisa said slowly "We-"

"Grab her – grab the blonde too" he shouted from the floor "Don't just stand around doing nothing you fucking idiots – grab her now!"

All five approached them and the anger was evident on all of their faces. Run. Run away – just run away! But her feet were not moving – she couldn't just leave the diner alone. Plans were never her forte, not on such notice – she needed pens and paper and time to think about all of the possible things that she could do before actually executing something. As they slowly approached where she stood her eyes grew wider – they were outnumbered and in a couple of seconds they would be close enough to touch.

"I didn't mean to do that-" she began "-he grabbed me and I just acted"

Each boy stopped in their tracks with a look of utter bewilderment on their faces and she didn't think it was possible for her eyes to grow wider. Surely her words hadn't affected them that much?

"What are you idiots doing? Grab her-"

"I suggest you all leave" He was so close to her that she could not contain her flinch, by the sound of his voice she knew that he had to be practically right behind her – she had not even heard his footsteps approach "Now"

"I-I'm sure the five of us can hold our ground against you" The boy that spoke was blonde and just like the boy on the floor his hair was combed back out of his face, he wore a blue t-shirt and dark jeans. He did not sound confident, in fact he sounded rather frightened "You're outnumbered even with the two chicks"

"I am incredibly old" the Vampire spoke quietly, but even so she bet that you could have heard what he said from across the room "Don't make me prove that to you"

Silence filled the air along with a tension so thick she was sure she was going to suffocate at any given second, but after a couple of moments the blonde bent down and helped his bleeding friend to his feet. Once he was on his feet once more he eyed the Vampire up and down with a slow shake of his head "Let's go" and that was it, each of the boys headed towards the exit "You better hope I never see your face again, doll"

That should have scared her – but it didn't. She no longer felt frightened. When she turned she nearly flinched again, having momentarily forgotten all about the Vampire that was standing incredibly close to her. His expression fell at her actions and it was then that she felt completely and utterly awful about herself – he thought that she was frightened of him.

"I'm sorry, I mean you no harm" he said softly

After what had just happened he thought that she was scared of him? She couldn't believe it "No – no it isn't anything like that-" she rushed with a shake of her head and at the same time fought herself to take a step back. What if she made him feel even worse? But he was too close, they were too close and it was something that had always made her feel incredibly uncomfortable.

It was then that Julie spoke "Louisa needs space, personal space"

"Space?" he questioned, confusion written all over his facial features as if he was trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle

"When people stand too close to her it makes her nervous, she needs a little space is all. Thank you, by the way, for what you just did. I have absolutely no idea what they would have done if you hadn't have been here – I don't even want to think about it"

"You do not need to thank me, anyone would have done the same" he began "Their intentions towards the both of you were not honorable ones I agree"

Louisa tried to say something, anything – but she couldn't think of anything. Instead she glanced around the empty Diner and saw the time – two o'clock "We should have shut this place down already"

"It's alright – we've done mostly everything anyway. It will only take me a couple of minutes to tie up the loose ends – no Louisa I have it, you've done more than enough for tonight" Julie left no room for augment and with that she began to speed around from table to table with a cloth in one hand and a set of keys in another.

"Are you alright? You didn't harm yourself did you?" he asked

"Harm?" she frowned

"Your elbow, did you injure it?"

"No, I don't think so – I'm fine"

"Are you positive? I think he was right, you definitely broke his nose" he eyed her arm warily once more and it was if he was trying to inspect her as if she was a damaged toy

"It feels fine"

The room was sent into darkness; Julie had turned off the lights. Louisa quickly retrieved her bag from underneath the counter and then joined her two companions outside.

"You've got the keys?" she asked

"I've got the keys – this is me we're talking about remember" the blonde chuckled as she armed the security.

The three of them were left standing outside of the now darkened diner, from here Louisa could see Julie's mum from across the road but it was hard to miss such a full head of blonde hair. The street itself was dimly lit and the air around her was not too warm, her absolute favourite especially seeing as she walked home.

"My mum's waiting – I am definitely not going to tell her about what happened tonight, god I am so happy I saw her pull up after those idiots left. She'd made me quite for sure if she knew" Julie turned to the Vampire again and gave him her brightest smile "Thank you again, for everything. I'll see you on Tuesday Louisa"

"She's awfully bright" he said as Julie crossed the road

"You get used to it" Louisa smiled "I do admit, it took me a while to get used to it"

"Where is your car located?" he asked

"I walk"

"You walk at this time of the night?" he asked, and she could not help but wonder why he sounded a little shocked at what she had said

"Yes"

"Where do you reside?"

"About twenty minutes away from here, it's only a few blocks"

"It is not safe for you to be walking unaccompanied at night at such an hour"

"I've never had any trouble"

Her words were true, every single night she walked home and every single night she was left alone. The streets were fairly lit which made her feel better about the journey, but the dark itself did not scare her- horror movies and novels had prepared her for the worst when she had been growing up.

"Would you allow me to accompany you?"

In that moment all she could do was blink in response to his question, and to be honest she would have done the exact same thing even if he hadn't happened to be a Vampire. To her embarrassment she noticed that once again his expression fell "No, no I don't mind! I was just, I wasn't expecting that" she said quickly "The last thing I expected was for you to offer to walk me home"

"Of course, that is no surprise" he sighed "Nevertheless I would feel better if you allowed me to walk you home, it truly is not safe at such an hour"

The moonlight made his pale skin stand out even more than it usually did and as she looked into his sad eyes she realized just how sincere he was. After all he had done for her tonight she had absolutely no intention on turning down the offer.

"Alright, we better get walking then" she said and with that she turned and began to walk up the street. After a couple of moments she glanced behind her and realized that he was standing exactly where she had left him, he had not moved a single muscle "Have you changed your mind? It really is okay, I walk home every night and I'm always fine"

Even though she was not beside him she could see the hesitation but it lasted only another second before he began to walk towards her. When he reached her side she began to walk beside him.

"It feels impolite to just call you Vampire" she confessed – the words sounding awfully childish and silly inside of her head "Am I able to ask for your name?"

"Godric" he spoke "My name is Godric"

"Godric" she repeated "I've never known someone called that before. Well, my name is Louisa – just in case you were also wondering" she had rushed the last few words upon realizing that he had to know her name by now, it was still pinned to her chest as the required uniform.

"Louisa" he too repeated "I have known many Louise's and even Louis' – but no Louisa's. Your name is quite unique"

"I can say the same about you"

As they walked I silence she tried to count the cracks in the pavement beneath her feet, when that deemed to be too difficult she decided to count the unbroken street lights instead.

"You walk home every night?" he asked suddenly "Why?"

His question left her a little embarrassed, but she tried not to let it show as she replied "I don't exactly have a car and even if I did no one has ever taught me how to drive one"

"You don't have parents that can pick you up?"

"No" She paused "I don't really have – well it's just me at the moment"

"You are so young" he murmured and his words were so quiet she had barely heard them at all

"Seventeen is not so young, and if you weren't a Vampire I could say the same about you – you barely look older than I am"

"I assure you I am much older than you are Louisa, by many, many years"

"How old are you? If you don't mind me asking of course"

"Somewhere in the early two thousands-" her eyes widened at his words – two thousand years old! "- I think"

"That's truly amazing, honestly it really is"

"You think so?" he asked and it was then that she could practically feel his eyes on the side of her face "Amazing isn't a word I would use to describe it"

"You must have seen so much in your time, I don't know much about history to be perfectly honest but some of the years and things you have probably seen, the list is surely endless"

"What years would you have liked to have seen?"

"I don't have a very good reason for wanting to live in them" she laughed

"I would like to hear them nonetheless, if you don't mind sharing"

"The 1800's would have been lovely, the fashion sense alone would have been fantastic" she rushed and once again she could not help but feel foolish at the words she had used "Though I doubt that I would be able to live how women did back then, I much prefer today's world. How about yourself?"

"Me?"

"What were some of your favourite years, as a vampire?"

For a while he did not speak so she went back to counting, though that only lasted for a couple of moments before she finally looked at him. Godric seemed to be in a state of deep thought, his hands lay unmoving at his sides and it was as if he was in a complete trance "10th Century A.D" he said finally

"Why?"

"It was when I met my Prodigy, Eric" he smiled and it was a genuine smile, one that she had never seen before. If she had thought he had looked young before, he looked a lot younger now.

"He means a great deal to you" she stated

"He does and though at times he can still be exceedingly childish, not to mention stubborn he does mean a great deal to me, more than anyone I have ever met in my time"

It was as if a switch had flicked after the mention of Eric, conversation seemed to flow a lot easier than it had done before and before she knew it Louisa was standing outside of her brown-brick apartment building. It had a total of six stories and on each floor was six small apartments and if they were anything like her own they were all one bedroom one bathroom. The building itself wasn't old but it wasn't exactly new either, it could definitely do with a paint job and some new lights but she doubted this would happen anytime soon seeing as the outside lights had never worked for as long as she had been there.

"Thank you again for walking with me, this is my stop here"

"You do not need to thank me Louisa, it would have been wrong of me to let you wonder the streets alone at this hour"

"Thank you again for everything tonight, Julie and I, we would have been absolutely lost without you. I guess I will see you the next time you come into Gemma's"

"Goodnight Louisa" he said, and for the first time he sported a crooked smile that she thought suited him rather well "You will see me again"

 **-0-**


	2. the Painting

**Restless  
Chapter Two – the Painting  
Word Count**: 5,530  
 **Updated** : 24/2/2016  
 **Note** : I do not think anyone can understand how much the reviews, favourites and follows mean to me! I am so glad that people like this story seeing as I was so hesitant to upload it, I have been working on it for nearly two years now. I do not own True Blood, only the characters I have created to make this story work.

 **-0-**

"You live by yourself? Alone?"

"Yes, it's just me"

"You don't grow lonely at all?"

"Not really, most of the time I really don't mind to be honest"

"You enjoy being by yourself?"

"I don't mind, not really. When I am home I'm either reading a book or working on another painting, I like to do both in silence so it's really probably for the best"

"You paint?" Godric asked "I am sure your work is very good"

"No, well, I don't think I should be the one to cast the final judgment" she replied with a small laugh "It's just a hobby – something I do to waste time"

"I'm sure you're just being modest" he smiled kindly "What kind of books do you read?"

As Louisa looked at Godric and his kind face she simply couldn't pass up the opportunity – it was too good "I am quite a fan of the Twilight series, have you heard of it?" and she had been right; the look on his face was worth it. Beside her Godric was trying incredibly hard not to frown and he was so far unsuccessful. She had indeed read the four books, but they were very far from being her favourite. It was not often that she was sarcastic, but his expression was worth every second. Her laughter could not be held in and before she knew it she was laughing so loudly it echoed the otherwise empty street.

"You were joking?" he asked

"I jest" she laughed "I am so sorry, but I couldn't help myself. Though it wasn't a complete lie, I have read the books but I did not like them. Bam Stroker's Dracula is a work of art and one of my favourite books to the day, along with Frankenstein and the Picture of Dorian Grey. I will read any work by the Brothers Grimm or William Shakespeare and I can't forget Anna Karenina – one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. I'm also quite fond of Stephen King"

"I read Anna Karenina when it was first published; though it has been a long time since then. I'm sure the translations are very much the same"

"You speak Russian?" she asked

"I speak several different languages" he nodded

"Isn't it hard to learn? I've always wanted to learn a different language but it seems so difficult, every time I start I tend to give up – a bad habit of mine I must admit"

"I've had a lot of spare time on my hands" he said softly, and once again she watched as his face fell. Every time they spoke about his life as a Vampire he grew visibly uncomfortable and she couldn't help but wonder why. Surely the past two thousand years had some upsides?

"You never look too pleased to talk about your life as a Vampire" she said softly, almost cautiously. A few weeks ago she would not have dared to make a comment so bold and personal but since the incident that had occurred just a little over a month ago in the middle of February his fortnightly visits had increased. Every night he happened to stop by the diner he walked her home, some evenings he would arrive just before she closed the shop and others he would take his synthetic blood and sit at his table heading into 11 o'clock. When they walked they would talk about simple things and complex things, about the world and politics or art and culture. The questions covered various topics but every time they would even hint at touching Vampires she would usually change the subject, until now.

He sighed "What is there to say? I am a two thousand year old Vampire and I have done terrible things, unforgivable things in my lifetime. It is if they are all starting to catch up to me"

When he was finished it took her a moment to take it all in because deep down she knew that what he had just told her was the most honest thing he had ever said to her so far. To understand what he was feeling was something she knew that she would never be able to accomplish, not anytime soon. Even just the thought of saying something to make him feel better made her feel a bit anxious – because what could she say? She knew nothing of his past or the sins that he committed.

"I don't really know what to say to that, because nothing I can say is going to make you feel better. I don't even think I would know where to begin. Godric, you can't change any of the things that you have done in your past, but you can try to make up for them" she paused "Who you are now is what really matters"

Godric didn't respond to her words and as time went on she grew even more anxious. She had said something wrong, she just knew it. Why had she even spoken at all? She should have just changed the conversation like she always did. Foolish.

"You did not sound like a fool Louisa"

"I said that out loud?" she groaned

"Yes. Louisa you are one of the most interesting humans I have ever encountered, far from foolish I daresay"

Words failed her. A two-thousand year old Vampire that has met hundreds – no, thousands of humans thought that she was interesting. It was a very high compliment.

"You think so lowly of yourself Louisa"

She smiled and said "I could say the same about you Godric"

"You have me there, goodnight Little One"

She had been walking through the glass doors that lead into the ground floor of her apartment building when spoke and for a moment she paused, but she did not look back. _Little One_. She liked it.

As soon as she had locked her door behind her and changed into a pair of baggy tracksuit pants and a white singlet, the nickname that Godric had given her was far from her mind and instead it was on a single white envelope sitting on one of her counters. It stared up at her from the counter as she walked over to retrieve it and as she held it in her hands the familiar handwriting practically screamed her name. With a single finger she ripped open the seal and retrieved the letter.

 _Louisa_

 _I do not know if you have moved or if you are still receiving any of my letters, but I thought I would write again just in case you are. Next week it will be Julian's six month anniversary. I wish I had the words to explain myself to you but I don't, I still don't. I wish none of it ever happened. I hope you're doing well. I don't expect to ever hear from you, not after everything I've done but if you ever need anything all you have to do is say the words. I have placed another cheque inside the envelope. I hope you are doing well._

 _Michael_

Next week. She had left the letter too long; the day after tomorrow would be the anniversary. Time had flown.

Her father's handwriting was always so neat and there was once a time where she had been so jealous, her own writing was large and bulky which always took up more space than she needed it to. When she finished re-reading it for the third time she scrunched it into a ball and aimed poorly for the bin, it missed by a number of feet. After the first five letters her father had stopped apologizing, she assumed he had finally realized that a simple sorry wasn't going to get him anywhere anytime soon. The cheques on the other hand are what kept her afloat even though she felt guilty every time she took them. Afloat or not she wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. As she relaxed into the couch she stared at the painting of Julian that was sitting on the second-hand easel in front of her, with his messy hair that never sat neat atop his head and the ears that were just far too big for his head. His lopsided smile had been her challenge but in the end she had nailed it along with his hazel eyes that never held a single worry.

He had been so, so happy simply sitting in his room and playing video games for as long as he was allowed to before bedtime, and even though it was nearly all that he did he was still so well behaved. Homework was always done on time and to the best of his abilities, chores were always completed as soon as they were set. His lifestyle and habits were something she knew that he had picked up from her. Julian was here entire world, he meant absolutely everything and now he was nothing.

Louisa took the completed painting and leaned it against the little table that sat against her wall, once she knew it would not fall she then reached behind her couch and withdrew the last blank canvas she had. It was larger than the one she had completed earlier this morning and it would be perfect for what she had in mind. After fetching some clean brush-water and preparing the colours that she would need she began. Eyes were first and with slow and precise strokes she outlined four pairs and just like this morning she worked without the use of a photo, though even if she did need one it wouldn't matter seeing as she had left them all behind when she had skipped town. Painting did not make her loss any easier but it did not make it harder either, it reminded her of the loss and at the same time it helped her cope in a way that she still did not understand. Her small paintbrush glided onto the canvas as she worked into the early morning and even though it was a lengthy process after hours of work a detailed picture soon made its way upon the canvas. Time truly meant nothing; she did not feel the seconds pass or her tiredness grow. Water paints and colours were truly beautiful to work with. After she had finished adding the small details to the eyes and the brows she worked her way through the shapes of the nose and the quirks of the mouths – adding in his freckles and her full and often chapped lips. As always before working through the hair which always took her more time than the other features she shaded each face with different colours; keeping Julian's to the warm and rich colours of the sun and hers to the dark and cool shades of the moon.

It was a rare occurrence that she would ever draw herself and only ever did so when she had to due for a project in class (usually always portraits) and even then she had worked as quickly as she could so that she could move onto something else. At the end of the day Louisa did not like looking at herself for long periods of time – what for? Her hair was always thrown into a messy ponytail, braid or bun and she had absolutely no use for makeup. Apart from when she brushed her teeth and washed her face with water and nothing more she did not have use for looking into a mirror. Nonetheless as she took a moment's break she felt the need to compliment herself at her progress; her large blue eyes were nearly perfectly detailed as was the small dimple in her left cheek. As much as she loved the work she had done on herself her brothers side was so, so much more and as she stared at his facial features she allowed her mind to wonder. He would have been beautiful once he hit puberty and tall too. Girls loved bright eyes and a cheeky smile and he would have grown into those ears too. With a shake of her head she began to add the dark shadows that would soon become hair and drew his first, the process did not take long and before she knew it she had already started her own. At first it looked messy and almost lazy, but soon she began to add lighter shades of brown that complimented the dark, blunt strokes. The colours blended together well and as the clock struck 6:12 am she was in the presence of another beautiful piece of work.

Her clothes were a wet mess, but that didn't matter as it would all come out with a simple wash. Her paint pallet was messy, colours were mixed with colours but that was also an easy fix as well. It was not often that she thought that her work was any good – who in today's world did? But she knew deep down that before her sat the most beautiful piece she had created so far. Unlike most water colour work these days her colours were quite light and pale, even the darker colours were not that dark. It showed a perfect contrast, her brother in bright colours and herself in cool ones and she was quite glad, not knowing earlier what the outcome would look like or if it would blend at all. The two faces of the painting stared back at her as she allowed herself to grow lost into her own head; they took up the entire space of the canvas and left very little room to add anything to the background.

God, she missed him. All of his freckles and his eyelashes that she had been so envious of, even his sarcasm which used to drive her mad and up the wall. She missed how he would run away from her every single time a new blackhead and blemish would appear, because he knew that she would be dying to rid him of them as soon as she saw them. As much as she detested video games she even missed playing those with him. For not the first time she wished that they had been able to trade places, that she had been the one to die and he the one to live.

Louisa blinked at she was working, once again she was practically alone in Gemma's diner with only an elderly man sitting at the table closest to the counter and Godric in his usual seat. For the entire day her brother had been on her mind and she knew that tomorrow it would be even worse. Sixth months – he had been absent from her life for six months already.

"You have an enjoyable night young lady" said the elderly customer "Be safe"

"You too" she murmured, not even bothering to force a smile onto her face as the man made his way towards the exit. Luckily he did not find her manor rude; she did not think she had the energy to deal with a problematic customer tonight.

Godric's bottle of synthetic blood continued to sit untouched on his table, but even that couldn't take her mind off of her brother for very long. Maybe one day he would tell her why he ordered one every time he came into the diner, maybe one day she would even ask him herself. Today was not that day though, not when he was still so uncomfortable talking about his life. After one last round of cleaning, including disposing of Godric's untouched bottle, Louisa locked Gemma's doors behind her and armed the security. It had been by far the quietest night that they had ever spent together, but it wasn't unpleasant. The silence was welcomed and was in no way uncomfortable, it was nice after a day full of forced chatter to be beside someone you could simply just walk with.

"I feel as if there is a lot on your mind Little One" said Godric, it was the first time they had spoken since he had ordered his blood little under an hour ago.

"It's just been a hard week" she admitted "I'm even talking the day of tomorrow, I organized it a couple of days ago"

"And this is unusual?"

"I have never had a day off before, not even when I was sick a few months back and it has been nearly six months since I started working"

"Did you want to talk about what is troubling you?"

How on Earth was she going to talk about it? She had never done so before not even with Julie or Matt. Instead of talking to her friends she bottled everything up and tried to forget about it instead, and so far she had been doing a perfectly good job.

"I haven't talked about it, ever to anyone not even with the friends that I work with. I just don't even know where I would begin or what I would even say"

"I have nowhere to be" he said simply "Time, well, that is never an issue"

She may have laughed if it was any other old day. Who knows, maybe opening up to someone would do her all the good "Are you sure?" she asked, and he nodded in response.

When they arrived outside of her apartment instead of leaving the Vampire on the steps outside she held the glass door open for him and then lead him up the stairs until they reached the fourth floor. She fished the keys out of her pocket and once she unlocked her security door held it open for him too – but after a moment she realized that he was not making a single move towards her and instead was standing as still as a statue.

"If I am not invited inside it is physically impossible, even for a Vampire as old as I am to enter your home"

"Oh" she said "Sorry, I had no idea. Please come in"

"We rarely release such information, especially little details such as that"

If she had been in a bright mood she may have felt a little embarrassed welcoming him into her home, but she simply didn't "I would offer you something to drink but I wasn't really expecting company" she said instead "Sorry Godric"

"No need to apologies" he said "Do you mind if I take a seat?"

"Of course not, I won't be a minute – I am just going to change out of my uniform. Please make yourself at home though"

Louisa shut her bedroom door tightly behind her and changed quickly into a pair of baggy tracksuit pants and a plain heather grey t-shirt. When she walked back into the main area where Godric was she was surprised, he was on her couch and flipping slowly through the pages of her old art diary that she had used in high school; it was one of the only things she had taken with her when she had left.

"I forgot I left that out" she said

"You were most certainly being modest when we spoke about your art" said Godric rather quietly "You are very talented Louisa"

"Thank you" she blushed, as she always did when someone complimented her

"Your story?" he questioned when he had finished flipping through all of the pages "If you still felt like talking about it that is"

 _It may help you_. And with that though she walked towards where she had placed the canvas in a daze before she had left work this morning which was just beside her and against the wall. Without looking at the piece she held she walked over and placed it on the easel once more.

"Very modest indeed" he murmured

"That's Julian" she mumbled as she took a seat "And he died sixth months ago as of tomorrow, he was my little brother and by far the most important and loved person in my entire life. He was always so bright, and even to the most boring people he was nothing but polite and friendly which is just so rare with kids his age these days. He was only eleven-" she choked, and for a moment she had to stare into the ceiling light so that she would not cry. Not in front of anyone, especially Godric. "When I was not reading or painting and when he was not playing his latest video game or flicking through his comic stash we were together and I never minded, not at all. We had the best relationship any brother and sister could have had; we were each other's best friend"

"I am truly, truly sorry for your loss. He died too young, far too young" Godric said from beside her in a tone that was able to settle her nerves which she knew she would need for the next part of her story.

It was then that she tore her eyes away from the canvas and smiled sadly at the Vampire beside her "You know my Mother was the most beautiful woman inside and out, just like my brother was. And Dad, he was a good man too – he worked really hard to give us a good life, we were not rich but everything we needed we had. Two years before Julian died, Mum died. A man was texting on his phone behind the wheel of his car and wasn't watching where he was going, she was walking across the cross walk at the wrong time" she paused and thought back to the day that she had been pulled out of school by her principal and how he had been the one to tell her the horrific news "Dad, he just took it all so hard, he and Mum were high school sweethearts and they had been together since they were sixteen. After the funeral he began drinking, soon after that he just stopped caring. I took care of not only Julian, made sure he got to school on time and always packed his lunch – actually I made sure everyone was fed seeing as Dad had never been much of a chef. Her role in the house became mine and at the time I didn't care, not really and even though I was missing so much school it didn't really matter to me. Everything got worse when he lost his job, after that it wasn't just alcohol but I'm pretty sure it was drugs as well. He'd abuse us for no reason, would yell and scream so loudly I was always embarrassed that the neighbours would hear. It always got to me; the little things he would say wormed themselves into my head and made me miserable – but not Julian. I don't know how but he was never upset, not once" She had to take a breather, and even though the worse had yet to be said she felt as if the weight of the world was no longer resting on her shoulders, in a way she felt relieved "It just grew into this mess, this horrible mess, every single night he would scream at me and soon I just didn't recognize my Dad anymore. You know, I preferred it when he would hit me; they were fine compared to some of the things he would say that would tear me apart from the inside out. I took it; night after night I just took it. Makeup helped me loads, it looked awful but it covered up the busted cheeks and the black eyes and I even grew my hair out so help hide the signs as well. To me it was all still okay, because he stopped yelling at Julian and that was all that really mattered. Julian noticed of course, but I hid everything perfectly; not once did her ever think that Dad was hitting me"

Godric looked as if he wanted to say something desperately, but he didn't.

"Julian got stuck into things so easily, if he were reading his comic books you would have to physically take it out of his hands to get his attention and that was something that Dad knew. One night Dad hit me so hard that I fell into the table, the force was so great that I ended up breaking it into pieces. He came out straight away and then he was yelling at the top of his lungs, he told Dad that as soon as we had the money we were leaving and never looking back which was something that I had been saving for since just after Mum passed. I can't remember it, not at all – I can't remember Dad hitting Julian or Julian falling and smashing his head open on the corner of the wall, all I remember was the blood staining the floor" she said.

The emptiness in her chest was still there, but after telling Godric her story she didn't feel like she needed to cry anymore – at least not at the very moment.

"I didn't even stay for his funeral, I left that very night on the train and never looked back. Dad still writes me letters and how he found my location is something that I still think about. Apparently he recently found God or something, but I just find it a joke"

"You do not believe in God?" he asked, and she was thankful that he was not asking questions about her story

"No, I do not think I do" she replied honestly "I think that everyone has something that they believe in, that they have faith in but mine is not in a man that I have never seen, nor has he done anything for me. Every single night after Mum's funeral I prayed to someone who never did anything to help me or my brother who is now dead-" once again she looked to the light and tried to calm herself down "I am not going to put my blind faith in someone that I have never met and that as far as I am concerned originates from a book"

"You were sixteen when you left? And you have been living alone ever since?" Godric asked, and she was surprised not only by the shock in his voice but the look of surprise on his face as well

"I moved into this place soon after I arrived, I'd saved a bit of money which was enough to cover the first months' rent"

"But you were sixteen" he said, his bright eyes never leaving hers "They allowed you to move in here at such a young age?"

"Not at first, I was actually just staying in cheap motels before this but getting a job at Gemma's changed everything. It was the first night I had worked a closing shift and she happened to be the one that was training me and insisted that she drove me home – when she found out about the motel she hooked me up with this place seeing as she knows the owner"

"You were too young and so was your brother, your father-" but he stopped himself better "A father should know better"

"I don't know what to say to that" she nearly laughed "But I'm slowly becoming okay"

"Have you ever thought of selling your paintings?" he asked, and she watched as he moved from the couch and towards the painting

"I would not even know where to begin, and even if I did who would buy them?" she asked

He turned to face her "I would"

Of all the people in the world, a Vampire was telling her that he would buy her artwork. A year ago this situation would have been enough to make her laugh, but with Godric looking at her with an expression of utter seriousness she did not feel the need. She brushed the compliment aside and looked at him, _really_ looked at him "Godric, I have never told anyone what I just told you. Not the police, not my friends, not anyone. And I just want you to know that I would do the same for you, I will do the same for you"

For the second time that night he looked completely and utterly surprised "I – my stories, they are not nice ones Louisa"

"Neither was mine. And I did not think that they would be Godric; there must be a reason why

Slowly, Godric returned to the empty space beside her and clasped his hands tightly atop his lap "I will not go into the small details but I shall do ask you ask, if anything it is only fair after all that you have just told me. When I was alive, in my human life I was sold as a slave when I was a boy. My master, he was sadistic, brutal and cruel in every way that you could possibly think and imagine and it went on for years. It was just before my eighteenth ***** year that he turned me"

"Your master was a vampire?" she asked

"Yes" he nodded "Though I did not know so at first. He eventually revealed his true self and what he was and after that I learned everything I could from him, about being a vampire that is" he paused "Before I tore him apart"

Louisa watched him as he spoke his story, and as she did she noticed that he no longer looked sad – there was something in his eyes that she could not place "I was under the impression that – well it would be impossible to kill your maker" she said slowly "I don't know much of course, Vampires are known to keep their secrets, but from the books I've read I just assumed it would be an impossible task"

"Not impossible, though tremendously challenging" his lips twitched "After I killed him instead of facing the wrath of the Vampires we had lived amongst I fled into the wild. For centuries I lived a savage life by myself, I had no one to answer too and for the first time since I could remember I was free"

"That sounds awfully lonely"

He only shrugged in response "I was practically a new born vampire, alone and free for the first time in a long time and a lot different to the one I am today. I killed many people of all ages, genders and sizes without a second thought. I spent centuries by myself, slaughtering innocent people for the sake of doing so before I finally came across Eric"

"Your prodigy" she smiled

"Yes. See, I had always had a fascination with Wars, and that was how I found him. Eric fought valiantly and I was very impressed with his skill, so impressed that I offered to turn him as he lay bleeding and broken on the battlefield. We spent a very long time together and to the day remain very close"

"Does he live here in Dallas?"

"No, he lives in Shreveport"

"At least that isn't very far, do you see each other often?"

"I have not seen him in a number of years"

"Do you miss him?"

"Yes and no" he said with a smile "I-" but he was cut off by his mobile phone. Godric sighed quietly before he reached into his pocket and accepted the call "Isabel?"

Louisa stood from her seat and walked towards her fridge to get herself a drink, eavesdropping was the last thing on her mind after all he had just told her especially not after all he had just told her. It did not confuse her, not anymore – if she had done some of the things he had most likely done she would not like herself very much either. But it was not what he had done as a newborn Vampire that shocked her, it was the fact that he had been sold as a slave at God only knew what age and that he had been tortured. She stopped thinking about it immediately as awful images plagued her mind. By the time she sat back beside him his hone was in his pocket and he was rising to his feet "My apologies" Godric said "It seems some urgent business has come up and I am needed"

"You don't need to apologize, here I'll walk you to the door; I hope it is nothing too serious"

"Me either little one" Said Godric as he opened up her front door and let himself out "I hope tomorrow is not too hard for you, if you would like I could-" but he paused

"I will be a miserable mess tomorrow and I would definitely prefer it if you never had to see me like that" she laughed quietly "But maybe the night after"

"I- I was not expecting you to welcome me back to your residence" Godric said seriously

"Oh Godric" she sighed "You may have done some awful things, but never once have you been anything but kind to me and that is all that I care about"

With that he nodded and Louisa watched as he walked down the dark hallway and into the shadows.


	3. the Sleepover

**Restless  
Chapter Three – the Sleepover  
Work Count**: 4,951  
 **Note:** I am so happy people are enjoying this story, don't be afraid to tell me what you think – good or bad. I hope you all had a very happy holidays and enjoy the new chapter x

 **-0-**

To say that Julian's sixth month anniversary was difficult was an understatement, because right now she felt even worse than when he had died. After Godric had left she lied in her bed until sleep overcame her, and when she woke only mere hours later she was sobbing so hard that her whole body trembled. She wanted nothing more than to sleep the entire day way and to get it over and done with, but fate showed her no such kindness. As the week went on her pain subsided slowly, she was able to sleep a little more as the days went on and soon her body began to accept food.

On Thursday, the day after the sixth month anniversary she went back to work and was able to meet Gemma's new waiter Robert – he seemed to have picked up everything quite quickly and Gemma was quite happy she had been able to find an acceptable replacement for Helen so quickly. Matt on the other hand was very happy that another male was hired, they were fast friends and that only improved as they soon bonded over the sports they both played. Like Matt, Robert was also eighteen and he was tall, lean and fit which did not surprise her considering all of the sport he played in his spare time. His favourite out of them all was surfing. As the week passed Louisa was happy with him as well, unlike Helen he turned up to his shifts on time and needed very little training due to his past experiences. He was quite good looking she had to admit, but it helped that he was kind and polite which at the end of the day mattered most.

Tonight was something that she was dreading because it was finally the night that Julie and Matt would be seeing and most likely sleeping in her place. After she had taken the day off they had all decided that Movie Night was something that was happening as soon as possible, Matt and Julie talked about their availability which easily fit around Louisa's practically nonexistent social life. Seeing as Louisa did not work Sunday's Matt was picking Julie up when she finished her shift at Gemma's and from there they were both driving here. They would be arriving any second and even though she knew her friends would not care about her tiny place she was nervous nonetheless.

Her nervousness doubled when she heard a loud knock on the door

"Delivery!" Julie cried from the other side of the door and through her nervousness she allowed herself to smile. When she opened the door she saw the blonde first; her hair was tied in a high pony-tail and instead of wearing her uniform she was dressed in some grey tracksuit pants and a fitted white t-shirt. She looked completely and utterly ordinary, but at the same time she was still so beautiful and not for the first time Louisa wondered how she did it. Matt was beside her and in one hand held a bag full of what looked to be junk food and in the other a separate bag full of DVD's "No rush to invite us in" Julie joked and with that she practically pushed Louisa aside and walked into the apartment. Matt followed.

"Nice place Lou" said Matt who was taking in his surroundings as he walked towards the couch – he fell onto it ungracefully and even though it was large enough to fit three spaciously he nearly took up the entire space himself. He was also dressed simply and instead of his normal uniform that she was so used to seeing him in he wore a plain shirt and denim cutoffs "Must be wicked living by yourself, I can't wait to move out"

Relief flooded her entire body and with that she let out a breath she did not even realize she had been holding "It is really nice at times, you see I have always enjoyed the quiet" it was then that she joined him on the couch and took a seat on his outstretched legs "This folds out into a bed, it isn't uncomfortable either"

"And let me guess, you and Jules get your bed all to yourselves? I see how it is, bit unfair isn't it?" he said and when she looked into his face she laughed at his pout

"I want to watch-" Julie began, but Matt was not having any of her suggestions

"We are _not_ watching the damn Notebook" he interrupted, his expression growing hard as he stared Julie down "I have seen that movie far too many times because of my ex-girlfriend and I swear to this day it was one of the many, many reasons why we broke up in the first place. If we're having suggestions though I am always in the mood for something scary"

Louisa did not need to turn her head to know that Julie wouldn't be happy with the genre selection, so instead she voiced her opinion "How about we watch something funny? You can never go wrong with a good laugh"

"I vote a comedy as well seeing as you won't let us watch the notebook" she pouted, and Louisa did not think it would be very good for her health if she told her friend she had never actually seen the Notebook that most girls her age had seen hundreds of times "I can't stand scary movies, especially at night time before I go to bed, I always end up flinching and jumping at everything that moves for a week afterwards"

"Can we watch Anchorman? It's one of my favourites" he asked

"I haven't seen it" both girls echoed

"Is it any good?" Louisa asked after sharing a smile with Julie

"You both cannot be serious" he laughed, and once he realized that they were indeed quite serious he frowned "We are so watching Anchorman, though before we do I highly recommend you both use the bathroom"

As Matt set up her second-hand DVD player and television Louisa found herself smiling as she looked on to the familiar face of Will Ferrell sporting a hilarious fake moustache and without looking what she was doing she reached down and grabbed a handful of chips from the packed in Julie's lap beside her that she had just opened.

Throughout the film on more than once occasion did the three have the pause so that they could all simply catch their breath and even rewind so that they could re-watch the scenes they simply had to see for a second time. Louisa could not remember the last time she had genuinely laughed so much, and not only because Steve Carrel was gracing her screen but because the company she was with fed her laughter. She discovered that Julie snorted with laughter when she found things extremely funny and that Matt could mimic the entire script word for word. As the credits rolled she turned to ask Julie a question, but it died on her lips as she took in the sleeping form of her friend. Without being asked, Matt stood to his feet and carefully lifted Julie into his arms and carried her into the bedroom; once he laid her down he tucked her in.

"So – you going to show me some of your artwork?" he asked

"If you would like to see some" she smiled "Well, I just finished these two just last week-"

But she did not need to fetch the paintings herself, Matt was already walking towards her little dining table and lifting the first canvas before she had the chance to finish.

"You – Jesus Louisa I didn't think you would be this skilled with a paintbrush"

"I'll try not to take that to heart" she joked

"No – Louisa seriously, you – your work is incredible, I just don't even have the words to compliment you. I feel as if anything I'd say wouldn't be enough" For quite a while Matt simply studied her paintings, and after he had finished studying those he took a seat beside her "Sibling? Cousin?"

"Sibling"

"You guys close?"

"We were"

"I notice that he isn't here" he said softly, and she did not think that he had even sounded so quiet "And now that I think about it, you've never mentioned him or any other member of your family before"

"That's because he died, I took that Wednesday off last week because of his sixth month anniversary"

"Shit – Louisa, I'm, so, so sorry"

"It's okay" Louisa said, but it really was not okay at all – not in the slightest, but it was getting a little easier. For her to even be able to talk about it at all was a start "Are you getting excited for your birthday?" she said, choosing not to voice her thoughts and move onto a brighter topic instead

"I am" he smiled "Parents finally said I can throw a party, you and Jules have to come – I won't take no for an answer. I love you guys you know that right?"

His confession shocked her – she could not remember the last time anyone had told her that they loved her, and he has said it like it wasn't a big deal at all.

"You - Matt" she smiled, she couldn't help herself

"No, don't be going all shy on me. You guys are two of my closest mates, truly – and I just, I'm happy that I've been able to meet you both. You will come though? I know you like relaxing when you're not at work, but it really would mean the world to me if you'd come"

"We'll be there, you don't even have to ask" she insisted, and she meant every single word.

"You know, Rob was asking about you yesterday" said Matt

"Asking about me? What did he want to know?" she wondered out loud

Matt laughed, and with that he stood to his feet and began to assemble his bed for the night "C'mon Louisa – are you telling me that you haven't the faintest idea what he could have asked me? Oh well – he wanted to know how old you were, your interests – if you were dating anyone or had a boyfriend"

"Oh" she said, completely and utterly dumbfounded with the information that was still trying to process in her mind. _Boyfriend_ she thought – could he possibly be interested in her? That, was something that she did not think she understood. Rob was handsome and she had not been the only one to notice it, even though he had only been working with them for little under a week she had already had a few girls come and ask her what nights and days he would be working. Looks aside, she did not understand because the concept of having a boy being interested in her was extremely unfamiliar territory.

"You really don't do the whole dating thing do you?" he asked, not unkindly.

"No" she admitted honestly but with the admission she could feel her cheeks flare up "I don't, I just never had the time before when I had been in school and since moving it has been the last thing on my mind"

"No boyfriend? Even a crush?" he asked, and when she did not reply his eyes grew "Seriously?"

"Yes"

"Well, what would you say yes if Rob asked you out?"

The question was so sudden and out of the blue it took her a moment to gather her thoughts. What would she do if Rob asked her out? Most likely turn bright red and make an excuse to visit the bathroom "Where are these questions all coming from?" she laughed awkwardly "Are you trying to set us up with each other?"

"Well, he wanted me to put in a good word with you and like all good bro's do that is exactly what I am trying to do - but now I'm simply just curious" he grinned

"Curious huh, and that's all?"

"Scouts honor Lou"

"Matt, you were never a scout"

"I was" he defended, and while he did he looked genuinely offended "For like a month before I gave up on it"

"You're shocking" she laughed "Rob seems nice, funny and so far and really easy to talk too. If he asked me out tomorrow I would not say yes because I still really don't know him very well – I mean, come on Matt I've only just met him from crying out loud. If I grew more comfortable I might say yes, I mean if he asked me"

"So you think he's nice, friendly, and easy to talk to . . . attractive?"

"See now I'm growing suspicious - attractive?"

"Alright he wants to know if you find him attractive – I have to report something back Louisa, help a brother out here"

"Of course he's attractive; you would have to be blind not to see that" she mumbled "But looks are not everything"

"See, that's all I needed! Wasn't so hard was it?"

"You good here?" she asked, ending the conversation before he had another chance to talk to her about what she thought of Rob "Enough pillows?"

"Yeah, yeah – you go cuddle up with Jules and have a great sleep"

"I will" she smiled and she could not help but smile as Matt groaned and shoved his face into his pillow; he did mumble something but she could not even begin to decipher what he had said but as she readied herself for bed she did not think she really wanted to know.

"I will" she grinned; Matt just groaned in response and shoved his face into the nearest pillow, he mumbled something but she didn't bother to ask what he had said – to be honest, she didn't think she really wanted to know.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

"We have to do that again, last night was fun" Matt said, he was still dressed in his denim cutoffs but instead of a plain shirt he wore his black work polo awfully similar to the one she was wearing as well "Moving onto important news, I wanted to tell you that I have finally set a date for my party"

"When were you thinking?" she asked

"March thirty-first and I've already sorted it out with Gemma so that everyone can have the night off, said she can come in and work with Barry for the night shift. Spoke to her about it before she left for the night"

"I'm looking forward to it" Louisa grinned

"You better – I already text Jules about it, said she can't wait to take you shopping for a dress" he smirked

"I bet she can't, she's been waiting four months for a good excuse to make me shopping for clothes with her" she frowned "I don't even want to imagine what she's going to make me try on"

"I can" he laughed

"How many people are your parents allowing you to invite?"

"They said a maximum of one hundred and fifty, it's going to be absolutely massive - actually I'm pretty sure half my old school is invited"

"I hope you have enough room in your house"

"I do" he shrugged "Mum's a nurse and dad's a surgeon, first thing they did after they got married was build their dream house together. We don't live in a mansion, but it is really spacious"

"Nurse and Surgeon huh, that's quite cute when you think about it"

"I know, I used to always joke about it before mum let something slip about foreplay" he shivered in disgust "Never mentioned it again and I don't plan on it"

"What about you?" Louisa asked "What do you want to do with your life Matt?"

"I'm having my year off, already been accepted into the college I wanted for September and I'm going to be majoring in Psychology"

"That's a lot of years, though worth it if you want it bad enough"

"I do" he smiled "All I've wanted to do since I was a sophomore. What about you little lady? What did you want to do?"

"I was never really sure before I left, though if I had stayed and had a proper education I probably would have done something with art"

"I don't know why you don't sell your work Lou" Matt said with a frown "They're amazing, I looked through your sketchbooks this morning with Jules and I was completely mind-blown. You have so much talent that you're not even remotely aware of"

"I'll think about it" she said, though she wasn't too sure if she ever would "Let's just, talk about something other than our futures for a moment, the subject makes me uncomfortable"

"Righto" he laughed, but before he could say anything else he grew rather distracted with the two girls that had just entered the diner. They were both extremely pretty; long blonde hair and blue eyes. Matt sent her a wink before he strutted towards the counter to take their orders.

As soon as they had finished ordering she set to work on the two iced-cholates that they had ordered and while she did she tried not to laugh at his attempts at flirting with them both. It was something she knew that she would never grow tired of, Matt was an attractive guy and he reeked of confidence and self-assurance when he spoke, but he was never arrogant which was why his charm worked so well. Still to the day Gemma swore that he was the sole reason why they had as many customers as they did.

Louisa knocked into Matt slightly as she placed the two iced drinks on the counter before him and glanced to the door when she heard it open – and froze when she realized it was Robert walking towards her accompanied by two of his friends. She had worked with him every single day up until today and it was the first time she had seen him outside of his work uniform. His dirty blonde hair was down and it was much longer than she thought; it brushed his shoulders and looked as if he had just rolled out of bed (which she did not think as unpleasant). A maroon t-shirt was rolled at the sleeves paired with knee length khaki pants. For the life of her, as she watched him walk towards her she could not imagine that someone like him would want to ask her out on a date, not when she knew that he could probably get any girl that he wanted. Even Julie who swore by the dark, tall and muscular type practically swooned when he walked through the doors for the first time. And his eyes – they were like the colour of the sky on a cloudless day, bright and alert and they were perhaps the feature that she enjoyed most about him.

But as he grew closer the conversation she had with Matt the night before was echoing inside of her head and his voice was loud and unrelenting. _Do not put your foot in your mouth_ she repeated, over and over again until he was standing directly opposite to her.

"I thought that Matty worked the Monday shift with you" he asked

"He is, but at the current time he is otherwise disposed" she grinned and nodded to where Matt was standing, still flirting his day away beside the booth of the two blondes from earlier

"What a shocker" he laughed and then his blue eyes were back on her "How have you been? Did you all enjoy movie night?"

"I've been good, and yeah it was fun – Matt made us watch Anchorman"

"That is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen, Will Ferrell is a genius" he grinned

"You should come next time, if you want too I mean. I don't really have much room at my place but I'm sure matt won't mind sharing the fold out couch with you"

"That is _my_ fold out" said Matt suddenly, having appeared on the other side of the counter as well "But you are more than welcome to fight me for it"

"Actually, it's my fold out" she said with a laugh "Next time; you can just sleep on the floor"

"Or" he cleared his throat "I could just sleep between you and Jules"

"In your dreams Romeo" She scoffed "Anyway, what can we get for you?"

"Oh" he said suddenly, as if he had to remember the reason why he had come in "the Chicken burger with curly fries - please"

"Sweet" she grinned, but as he continued to stand and look at her she frowned "Are your friends going to get anything?" For the first time she took both of his friends in – of course they were not hard on the eyes either.

"Yeah" he laughed awkwardly and passed them both a menu before finally stepping away from the front counter "My bad" His friend with the dark hair said something under his breath that she could not hear and in response Rob whacked him across the back of the head

"Oi" he laughed "I was kidding, make that another chicken burger but without the mayo, I don't understand how you can eat that stuff"

"And I will have the Fish burger thanks" said the third, the three then made their way towards a table in the corner of the store.

"I can't wait to tell Jules he has the hots for you" Matt laughed as soon as they were out of earshot "She'll go crazy trying to get you both together, you know how she is"

"If you really, really love me like you said that you did _you_ will avoid telling Julie anything about Rob" she said seriously "Not only is it his personal business but she gives me a hard enough time as it is over Godric especially after the past month"

"Wait – who on Earth is Godric?" he asked "And why have I never heard of him before now?"

"He's one of the regulars that come in here at night, and he's a Vampire" she explained. Vampires may be out in the open now, but it was still a big deal and she knew deep down that it was always going to be like that, at least for a while.

"You're on a first name basis with a-" but before Matt could finish Louisa clapped her hand over his mouth so that he could not shout out her business to the rest of the diner

"Inside voice!" she cried "Matt, c'mon not so loud"

"How did this happen?" he asked "When did this happen?"

"He walked me home one night – aw c'mon Matt please don't give me that look and then he started walking me home a bit more, he said I wasn't safe at night out by myself. We started talking and we well, we became friends I guess"

"A Vampire" he began "Started walking you home from work because it wasn't safe for you to do so by yourself at night"

"Yes"

"And" he went on with a roll of his hand "There has to be more than that"

"We talk" she said simply with a small shrug of her shoulders "We talk about a lot of things actually"

"You talk? That's it?"

"Yeah, that's it"

"When does he come in? I wanna see him, I mean Jules has already met him but I haven't had the chance yet"

"Every second Tuesday, other nights it's just when he has the time I guess, please don't make a big deal out of it"

"Will he come in tonight?"

"I'm not too sure-"

"I'm so staying until closing" he interrupted, his eyes were wide with excitement and he was grinning like a cat

"You are not-"

"I so am, it's like nine o'clock now and I usually get off at ten and I have no problem just sitting here, drinking smoothies and eating ice cream until he comes in seeing as I have nothing better to do"

"Matt" she laughed "Surely you have something better to do and Jesus, he may not even come in at all!" But her words had no effect on her friend, he just continued to smile and shooed her away to take the Rob and his friends' food over to them when it was ready.

After that the night went by quickly, customers came in and came out in small rushes that had both she and Matt working in a synchronized pair. When she placed Godric's preferred bottle of blood in the microwave (just in case) she could have sworn that her and Matt's conversation had been half an hour ago – but that was how it was when you were busy. Matt himself was sitting on top of the counter beside her and when she looked at him she noticed his curious expression.

"He always arrives at ten past eleven so I get the blood ready so it's heated up and ready to go when he gets here and don't you dare say a thing about it" she said quietly with a shake of her head, having said the words out loud she now realized how embarrassing it was "It's not like he ever drinks it anyway"

"What do you mean?" he asked

"He never drinks the blood and I haven't had the courage to ask him why yet"

"I'll ask him" Matt shrugged

"No you won't"

"Okay, no, I won't just don't look at me like that" he shifted uncomfortably "Who knew you had the look"

"What look?"

"It's like, I don't know a look that my mum gives me every time I've done something wrong or she wants me to do something for her"

The microwave went off with a beep and she allowed it to cool for a moment before she placed it on the front counter. She had not seen Godric since the first night she had asked him to come inside so that she could talk about her brother and how he had died – something that she at the time had never told anyone else especially in such vivid detail. But it wasn't just that, he had opened up too and she didn't know how often he did that but she did not think it was an often occurrence especially with a human.

Godric walked through the doors at ten past eleven exactly, just like he did so every night that he chose to come in – his visits as of late have grown more frequent and her curiosity was peaked at the thought. She would not ask him though, she couldn't.

"How are you faring?" he asked "After -" but he stopped and waited for her answer instead of finishing his sentence

Louisa was confused and it took her a moment to comprehend what he was asking her – and then it clicked. He wanted to know how she had been last Wednesday "I'm well, a lot better than I was"

"That is very good to hear" he smiled softly, placed a twenty dollar bill on the counter before her and made his leave to nothing other than his usual seat.

Matt soon left and when he did he gave her a one armed hug before heading for the door, he had said nothing to the Vampire and had mentioned nothing about the exchange that had occurred and instead had talked only of his upcoming birthday party that he was incredibly excited for. It wasn't long before she and Godric were walking back to her building and it was so familiar now that she didn't feel nervous, not anymore. As they walked she glanced at him; he was unusually quiet "Is there something on your mind?" she asked "You look like you may have something on your mind"

"I feel that I owe you and apology Little One" he admitted. An apology? What on Earth did he have to apologies for? "To say that I have been busy would be putting matters lightly, I said that I would come back to see you and I never did"

For a moment she was stunned, completely and utterly stunned – she had forgotten completely about the exchange "Godric don't be so silly" she then laughed "I only remembered just now when you mentioned it myself, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for"

Godric nodded "Do you miss your home? Where you grew up?"

"I guess I miss parts of home" she began "I miss this park that was near our house, it was always so dead and Julian and I would always go adventuring there. This massive three story house was on the same land you see and it was completely and utterly abandoned. Every Saturday we would explore the house. Things like that are what I miss, though I don't think I could ever go back permanently. I guess it is rather cowardly, but it would just be too hard – everywhere I would go Julian would be with me and he, well he's dead now"

After that they walked beside one another in a peaceful silence and when she arrived at the foot of the stairs that lead to the apartment doors she turned to face him "You are more than welcome to come up if you're not busy"

He stared into her face and wore such a peculiar expression, one very similar to the one he had worn when she had defended him against those two mean that had not paid for their coffee. _I would give anything in the world to know what he is thinking_ she thought, _anything._

"I'm not busy"


	4. the Preperations

**Restless  
Chapter Four – the Preparations  
Word Count**: 4,198  
 **Notes:**

 **-0-**

"I do not think I am ever going to be able to beat you" Louisa said as she looked down to the checkers board before her; black checkers far outnumbered her red ones "I don't even want to think about playing you in a game of chess"

"Practice is all that you need" Godric insisted, but when she looked at him she noticed that he was wearing an all too familiar cheeky expression that told her otherwise.

"You have beaten me every single night that we have played so far" she muttered darkly, then she leant across the space between them and flicked her own red stack of checkers and watched as they scattered across her clean floor – it made her feel a little better about her constant losses "Eight times Godric, you have beaten me _eight times_ "

"Yes little one, but you forget that I am older and far more experienced than you when it comes to the game" he smiled "Have you been working on anything new? Any new art you would be willing to show me?"

Godric was always so curious about her art, he always had been – but at the current moment she was not about to show him the sketches she had been drawing. Often, sometimes at night when she could not sleep or in the early morning after she had slept very few hours she found herself drawing, her mind hand moving on its own accord and before she knew it she was drawing him. His eyes, the tattoos on his arms and his build. Though something like this wasn't odd, not for her at least; she had always had a bad habit of drawing her friends – it was just a habit that she kept to herself. All of her friends were beautiful, even if they could not see it for themselves – and Godric was amongst those few people now.

Louisa studied him from where she sat – he really was quite beautiful and she could still see him being so even if he was a human. His skin was awfully pale but she didn't mind it, not at all – it enhanced the lovely colour of his eyes and unlike most that looked his age he kept his hair short and out of his way. The clothes he wore we always the same if not similar; cotton shirts and pants in soft colours. His tattoos that decorated his arms were nearly always visible and they were something she found herself drawn too – but as an artist she brushed it aside; small details were something she always took in.

"Nothing overly interesting" she smiled "A few portraits and doodles of my friends from work but other than that not a lot. As soon as I paint something new you will be the first person that I show" The little lie came easy, and even though she despised lying she could not bear the thought of him finding out that she had been drawing him. It would make things uncomfortable she just knew and after that everything would be different. She did not want that, she did not want things to be different between them.

Two weeks ago she had invited him inside for the second time and it had been the first time that they had ever played checkers; he had absolutely slaughtered her and held nothing back as he did so. Since then she had not seen a single victory. Instead of parting ways downstairs as they had done before Godric now came inside and sat with her nearly every time that he walked her home; they continued their conversation or played checkers and sometimes even cards (a game she was a little better at). As she thought about it now it was something she had not had a chance to get used too – because Godric coming inside was now a common occurrence and was just as normal as him coming to the diner every second Tuesday at 11:10.

When Louisa had told Julie about the situation the blonde had been utterly shocked – but now all she did was bug her constantly when they worked together and insisted that she knew every single detail. Matt had not been wrong, her friends was incredibly excited to take her not only dress shopping for his party but shoe and makeup shopping as well – something she had not exactly been looking forward too. They were going shopping tomorrow seeing as Louisa no longer worked Saturday's, not since Gemma had hired another two. Lila and Pete had been hired on the spot, Gemma had taken a liking to them both instantly and Louisa was rather pleased that she no longer had to work six days a week. She managed of course and she never once complained, but it was nice having two days off. Lila had short silky red hair that was so bright you could see her from a mile away and bounced around the diner with springs in her steps. Pete on the other hand was quite the opposite, at first very shy he hardly talked to anyone unless he was spoken too first – but he had opened up in the past couple of days.

"Godric" Louisa said "What exactly do you do? I know that you take phone calls, so I assume you work"

"I am a Vampire sheriff of this area, and the role is not so different compared to what you would assume a sheriff does. We oversee the areas we are assigned and we govern them, all of the Vampires in an area must obey their sheriff at all times without question"

"Sheriff" she repeated "You must be very important" but Godric could only shrug from across from her. Important was one thing, surely he was powerful – she did not think that every single Vampire could have a role like that.

"I could have been the king, but Politics interests me very little" he continued. If she had been drinking something she would have choked – _I could have been king._ Thousands of questions raced through her mind – what was a king? What did he do? Why do politics bore you? What are Vampire politics like?

"You – you say that like it is the most casual thing in the world" she laughed instead, choosing not to ask him about the Vampire world "Godric, you must be extremely important if you were offered such a role. I mean, I don't know anything but – king, wow"

"Power is of no significance to me little one, it matters very little"

"I just – I had absolutely no idea. You have your own Sheriffs, Kings and with Kings there are Queens. Sometimes I just forget, I forget that you have all been here a lot longer than any of us humans have. It is only reasonable that you have your own customs, laws and ways"

"Not as many as I am sure you are thinking" he smiled, and then he looked to where a small clock hung on her kitchen wall "Isabel has been expecting me for the past thirty minutes, I should be going"

"Oh!" she exclaimed "You shouldn't have kept her waiting on my behalf"

"You are far more enjoyable than Politics Louisa. I would much prefer to spend my time here with you than attending to business. Enjoy yourself tomorrow night; it is your co-workers birthday party is it not?"

"Yes" she said in a daze "I will try, I am being made to go shopping tomorrow for something to wear with Julie"

 _I would much prefer to spend my time here with you_. They repeated themselves over and over again and by the time she realized that she wasn't concentrating she had to ask him to repeat what she had missed him say "You sound as if that is the last thing you would rather do" he chuckled

"I guess that is true in a way, I don't really like shopping unless it is for new art supplies"

"Take care Louisa" he said, and then he was gone.

She locked her security door as soon as she watched him disappear down the flight of stairs, it was then that she retrieved an A4 sized sketchbook from beneath her sofa .It was new and was the first thing she bought on her first official weekend off; the page she was looking for was not hard to find. For as long as she could remember she was fascinated with drawing eyes and over time she grew to accept the fact that she had become quite good at them. Godric's bright eyes stared at her from the page below, she had finally after a few attempts gotten the colours _just_ right and now all she had to do was shade and colour his brows properly. The process was done within the hour. As she eyed her newest piece she could not help but feel utterly happy with the outcome, and she could not bring herself to feel weird about the fact that she was drawing him. His eyes were stunning, breathtaking even and they deserved to be put on paper.

When she turned the page over she was graced with Julie's blue eyes; they were far bluer than Godric's blue/green mix but still pretty all the same. It did not take her as many attempts to get them right as it had taken with Godric. Again she turned the page and from the small table beside her she retrieved a simple pencil and begun her newest sketch; her right hand moved back and forth lightly over the white page and before long she was pressing her pencil a little harder. As she drew every now and then her thumb would come out and caress the page softly allowing the led to smudge and shade and before long she could make out the tattoo that could be seen if Godric wore one of his cotton V neck shirts. As she continued to shade the shadows she wondered if his tattoos meant anything to him at all – maybe one day she would ask him.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

"Julie, I couldn't possibly try all of these dresses on" Louisa said as she stared at the literal armful of clothing that her friend held in her arms, at any moment it looked as if they were going to fall all over the floor.

"Louisa it is only early! What do you mean you can't try them all on?" she asked and even though her hands were otherwise occupied she had no trouble pushing her towards where the change rooms were at the rear end of the store "And I want to see you in every single one of the items I have picked out for you, and telling me that they are not your size is not going to work. I checked all your sizes when I was in your bedroom earlier"

Louisa could not help but groan out lout, there was not a single excuse she could use to get herself out of the situation. _It is going to make Julie happy_ she told herself over and over again as she stripped down into just her underwear. The change room had six little hooks that held all of her clothes, three on one side and three on another and all but two were full of clothes that he friend had picked out for her. Well, she was in desperate need for new clothes – everything she had bought since arriving in Dallas was either second hand or on sale (not that it was ever a bad thing, a bargain was a bargain). The change room was a decent size and the only thing that kept her from Julie was a thick blue curtain, it left her plenty of room to throw on the first dress rather ungracefully even for her standard – but she couldn't help it, she was not used to trying on dresses at all especially ones that looked like this.

As she looked into the wall-length mirror in the change room she did not know what to think, she could not remember the last time she had worn a dress, or a skirt – or anything that was not a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. But it was absolutely beautiful and she could not deny that even if it was the shortest thing she had ever tried on. Julie had amazing taste, she could admit that. The dress itself was white, the long sleeves were not tight but they fit her so perfectly that there was not a scrap of material wasted; the bottom half of the dress went out at her hips and a black trim of lace decorated the bottom.

The curtain was suddenly open to reveal Julie, obviously having lost her patience with waiting outside "Oh you have to buy this! You look absolutely amazing – now give me a spin"

Louisa spun "I think it's a little too short for me Jules"

"Short?" she laughed "Oh Lou, if you think that is short you are going to go crazy when you see some of the dressed that I own – this one is only three inches above the knee, it's completely appropriate. Not to mention it's fifty percent off and you look amazing. You are buying it, I have decided and that is it"

Even without the percentage taken off the dress wasn't that expensive in the first place, and it really was quite lovely. The boutique Julie had taken her too was one that she had found a few months back and from the outside the place looked quite tiny, the inside on the other hand was rather spacious. Racks and rails of dresses of all sizes, shape and colour were adorning the walls and in the center of the room were two black leather couches. The counter was located at the front of the store and three change rooms were at the back. As Louisa shut the curtain once more Julie took a seat on the couch. She had to admit, even if she didn't like shopping that much she would be a complete fish out of water if she had been alone.

The second dress she tried on was more to her liking, the white was lovely of course but red had always been one of her favourite colours. It was very plain beside the shiny gold belt around her midsection, the sweetheart neckline was rather tight on her bust but she was quite happy with that – the last thing that she wanted was for it to fall down. Like the first dress this one also went out at the hips and as she moved in front of the mirror she smiled as it swayed around her thighs. With this dress she did not argue when she walked out of the room and Julie told her without hesitation that she was also buying this one, and really there was not a point even if she disliked the dress – 99% of the time when you argues with Julie you lost.

Over the next half an hour she modelled dress after dress for her friend, and along with the dresses there were even some tops and skirts as well. In the end Louisa refused to buy a selected few pieces and some she only bought for Julie's sake – but overall she enjoyed her time playing Barbie as it was a nice change to how she usually spent her weekends. As she looked at her 'Buy' pile she tried not to sigh, because in the end it wasn't about who she was as a person and what she liked to where – it was the fact that she didn't have anywhere to where them. From the large pile she looked to the mirror, she was wearing the second last dress and it was her absolute favourite so far.

The top half was white and long sleeved, but unlike the first dress this one had a low plunge that revealed far more of her chest than she was used too – she was not going to be able to wear a bra with this. Instead of white, the bottom half was pleated black with a simple pink floral print. When she stepped out of the room Julie did not hesitate before shouting a loud "Yes" before sending her back inside for the very last time, a dress she paid absolutely no mind to as she pulled it over her head and stepped outside before even taking a second look at her overall appearance.

Julie was looking at her, but she was not saying anything and that itself struck her as odd because Julie always had something to say "Does it really look that bad? I didn't even really look before I tried it on to be honest; all I know is that it's shiny"

"No" Julie said simply "No – Louisa, you well – just look at yourself"

"What?" she asked "I'm so confused; you're usually far more excited than this"

"All I will say is that if I knew you had a body like that I'd have gotten you some completely different dresses – I must have accidentally put that dress in your pile instead of mine"

"I'll take it off, you can have it-"

"No" Julie insisted "Louisa just look at yourself!"

Louisa frowned and walked over to the full-length mirror and stopped as soon as she caught her own reflection. The dress black and sparkly with three-quarter sleeves and if she were to bend over she knew that her underwear would not be safe. It clung to her body like a second skin, enhancing her small waist and wide hips while at the same time showing off a decent amount of cleavage.

"I could not possibly buy this" she said immediately

"If you don't buy this I will, and when I do I will hide it in your wardrobe. You are definitely not going to win this fight and you may die trying if you try to. Okay we are done here and don't you dare try to put the dress you are wearing back, I will know if you do. We still need to go and buy shoes, not to mention makeup – but I just say once again that I can't believe you own a single lipstick?"

"I own mascara" Louisa defended

"That doesn't count" Julie snorted "C'mon – go pay for your clothes, there's a shoe shop up the road we can go to that have amazing prices"

Three hours later Louisa was putting her new dresses on coat hangers and placing them into the small wardrobe that had been practically empty before today; her shoes were then placed on the empty space beneath them on the wardrobes floor. She ended up buying more shoes than she thought she would have and to her own surprise found that she rather enjoyed the experience. Makeup on the other hand was not as fun as the shoes and clothes had been, not by a landslide. While they had been in the store Julie had denied the help from all of the ladies around her and helped Louisa pick out what she needed on her own "If we listen to them you're going to be spending an arm and a leg, never listen to makeup specialists Louisa – not when you have me" Julie had said and in response she could only laugh. Before today she had absolutely no idea you could buy products for your eyebrows, not to mention all of the different brushes and tools you needed to apply it all.

"My painting brushes were not this expensive" she had muttered "Why can't I just use my hands?"

"Your hands have oils that are not meant to be on your face" Julie scolded

It was now five thirty, and after cooking herself some chicken and rice for dinner she hopped into the shower and relaxed into the warm spray. Julie would be back here at eight o'clock to pick her up with her Mum and she knew she would need all the time that she could get to prepare. She took a little longer than she normally would in the shower, using the time to wash her hair slowly and gently before thoroughly shaving her legs and other necessities. As she dried herself off she stepped into a pair of silky pair of nude underwear and bra before throwing a robe over the top so that she did not get covered in makeup and grime.

As she unraveled her hair from the now very wet towel it stuck to the robe when it became free, and only then did she start to take all of her new products out of their packets. Before starting her makeup process she applied some moisturizer, once it had sunk into her sink she began.

Foundation was first and as she slowly worked it into her skin she saw the redness of her cheeks against her pale skin fade, one she was done she dabbed a little concealer under her eyes to try and hide the now permanent bags that she had due to the insomnia. They did not look as bad, but they were still their all the same – but she was not disappointed, the bags had become such a constant in her life that if they were to disappear completely she would be quite shocked. Eyeliner was another story completely; it took her nearly thirty minutes of precise work to make sure that both sides were perfectly and utterly even and when she was finally done she applied some mascara. Her cheeks were something that she was also careful with, because she did not want to apply too much to her cheekbones in case she ended looking like a complete fool. Lips were next, the colour Julie had chosen was a simple nude and once it had been applied she watched in fascination as it dried matte. Since as long as she could remember she disliked the shape of her lips, they were just big and pouty and she did not think that they were appealing at all.

Her makeup had been kept very minimal, but she could not deny the difference that it made to her usual clean face. She had always been graced with nice skin, but with the help of makeup it looked even nicer than it did before. Her winged eyeliner was precise, but that was only due to the fact that she simply had to have it perfect and if it wasn't her inner self would be completely disappointed; if she could draw two perfect eyes she could apply winged eyeliner. And her lips – well, they didn't look that bad now that they had some colour on them. The hair was the only thing that she had not touched, and it was nearly dry considering she was sitting in her bathroom without a window. But she could not do anything, she did not have tools for her hair but thankfully she did not really need them. It was so long now, nearly falling to her belly button almost. It was naturally wavy in a way that most girls would be jealous, but it was only due to the care that she took with it that it had remained so after all of these years. After she stared at herself for another moment she returned to her bedroom, lost the robe and carefully slipped into red dress with the golden belt. When she was done sat on her bed and pulled on some white ankle boots she had fallen in love with as soon as she had seen them.

Louisa shut her wardrobe door and when she did she saw herself in the long mirror; she hardly recognized herself and she did not know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. The boots made her legs look longer which was so odd seeing as she had always been rather short and her hair was usually always kept up and out of the way. _When was the last time I wore it down?_ She wondered and after a moment she realized that she truly could not remember. And the dress – she just looked like a completely different person, and she did not really mind. It was then that she was interrupted by a knock at the door. Julie.

Taking care as she walked, she returned to the main area of her apartment and unlocked the security door and she was not surprised with who stood on the other side. Julie wore a baby blue dress that when perfectly with the colour of her eyes; it had long sleeves made of lace, a high collar and clung to her hips and legs before ending just above her knees. Her blonde hair was straightened perfectly and was parted into two neat sections with not a single strand out of place. She looked absolutely beautiful every time that Louisa saw her, but in this moment she knew that Julie had the power to make any man drop to their knees.

"Are you ready?" she asked

"As ready as I will ever be"


	5. the Party

**Restless  
Chapter Five – the Party  
Word Count: **4,736 **  
Note:**

-0-

Louisa was sitting in the back of Julie's mums' car and even though Matt lived a good twenty minutes away from her it felt like she had been in her home only moments before. For the first time in quite a long time she was excited, not only to be spending time with her friends but to attend her very first party. High School had been great when she had been there, she had some pretty cool friends who had invited her out from time to time but she never said yes; the thought of leaving Julian alone with her father was something she didn't have to give a second thought about.

"You know the rules Julie" her Mother said rather sternly from the front seat as the car slowly stopped "No drinking, no smoking, no drugs and no sex. You'll be keeping an eye on her for me, won't you Louisa?"

"I will" said Louisa, and she meant it "I am not planning on having her leave me sight anyway, the idea of being alone at a party makes me a bit anxious"

"Alright, good. Well just let me know when you want me to come pick you up Jules – but no later than two okay?"

"Sure Mum" Julie grinned before she placed a small kiss on her mother's cheek "Love you"

"Love you too"

"Thank you for the ride Anna" said Louisa as she stepped out of the car and closed the door

"You're more than welcome sweetheart. You both enjoy your night"

Louisa and Julie watched the car and only when the taillights were no longer visible did they both turn to take a good look at Matt's house for the first time. It was built out of what brick and even from here she knew that his parents had been successful in building their dream house. They walked through a picture-perfect white picket fence and followed the small path towards the large front doors and Julie did not hesitate to knock once they were standing before the dark wooden door. A man and a women answered the door and Louisa could only guess that they were Matt's parents "Hello ladies" the man said "Don't mind if we ask your names do you? Just trying to keep the guests to the list"

"Of course not" said Julie "I'm Julie Grace"

"Louisa Marie" Louisa smiled

"You both work with Matt" his mother smiled kindly "He has told us all about you of course"

"Only nice things I hope" Julie laughed

"Alright well if you'll follow us we will take you out back"

As Louisa walked through the house she barely heard Matt's father explain that the house itself was strictly off limits unless accompanied by either Matt or themselves and she really could not blame them. Their house was a spacious, modern styled home with chocolate brown coloured furniture and creamy walls, bookshelves packed with thick books and volumes lined the walls and it took everything inside of her not to reach out and run one of her hands over the covers. The kitchen – well, she had never seen a nicer kitchen in her entire life; the counters were white marble and atop them sat every appliance under the sun. For a moment she just wanted to stand inside of his house and take everything in, but her thoughts vanished as they approached a set of double doors that lead outside. It was barely eight thirty but nonetheless the backyard was packed full of people that she had never seen before and not for the first time that night was she quite thankful that Julie was by her side.

There were just as many girls as there were boys, some of the girls were dressed quite casual and some were wearing dresses even more fancier than Julie's while the boys were all dressed quite similarly as far as she could tell; jeans, shirts and even some button ups. Louisa stopped scanning the crowd when she felt her phone vibrate, it was the only thing she had taken with her and when she looked down to the screen she read the little preview message quickly

 _Rob, Pete and I are near the pool. We saved you seats._

"Lila just sent me a text" she told Julie "They are over near the pool"

"Let's go then" Julie grinned.

They linked arms and pushed their way politely through the large crowd, as they slowly made some progress Louisa could not help but take in all of the small details as she went. A lot of the people around her were drinking alcohol and a few were even smoking cigarettes, a small group of girls were dancing in the middle of the crowd and as each moment passed another person joined. As the made their way towards the back of the yard the crowd began to thin and only then were they able to see some familiar faces. Lila, Pete and Rob were sitting around a small glass table on two couches.

"Oh my God" Lila laughed when they approached "It took me a moment to recognize you with your hair down! Where did you get those shoes by the way?" she asked

"Oh – actually you'd better ask Julie about that, I don't recall the name of the shop" Louisa replied with an awkward laugh. She decided to take the empty seat next to Rob and as she sat she gave Pete a small wave.

Lila herself looked amazing; she wore tight black pants that looked as if they were made out of PVC and a simple singlet with a twist back, the combination made her bright red hair stand out even more than it usually did. Pete on the other hand wore a black beanie on his head, a white t-shirt and a pair of skinny jeans – he looked so much more relaxed outside of work and it was a nice change. For the first time since arriving she allowed herself to have a good look at Rob, and she was not disanointed. Rob was also wearing a beanie; it was light grey and matched the large shirt he wore which was cuffed at the sleeves. A pair of beige khaki pants clung to his toned legs.

"Hey" she said simply. _You look lovely. You scrub up nice._ She was quite glad she had stuck with a simple hey compared to some of the other things that had threatened to spill from her lips.

"Hey" he grinned, he then eyed her up and down slowly from head to toe – something she was so used to customers doing, but customers had never had such an effect on her. When Rob looked her up and down she did not feel disgusted, she felt shy and a little empowered "You look – wow, Louisa you look absolutely stunning"

She opened her mouth to say something but no words would come out, getting complimented was still something that she was not used to "Thank you" she tried to sound calm, she really did but she had a nasty feeling that she had failed "When did you get here?"

"Not that long before you did, Pete and Lila were already here saving us all a seat"

"I'm just glad I know people here, I would have been so anxious if I was the first one by myself"

"I know what you mean" he nodded "Crowds aren't my favourite thing, especially when alcohol is involved. I much prefer the peace and quiet"

"I could not agree more myself" she smiled.

As Rob continued to talk to her she could not help but think back to when Matt had first told her that the boy sitting beside her was interested in her. He was beautiful – completely and utterly beautiful but it wasn't just that; he was also kind and funny and even quite shy especially when they were talking like they were now.

"There is the birthday boy" Rob grinned.

Louisa heard him before she saw him "Friends!" Matt called out, and when she turned around she saw a very, very happy looking Matt walking towards her with a drink in one hand. Once he reached them he pulled Julie to her feet and she nearly stumbled when he pulled her in for a close hug "Jules! You know I think I like Ju-Ju better – and Lu-Lu-" with that he then pulled Louisa to her feat and she too nearly tripped at the suddenness of it "Who knew you both looked so hot outside of those uniforms?"

"You are drunk!" Julie laughed from his other side "Jesus, you would have to be to come up with such atrocious nicknames"

"Atrocious!" he yelled "How rude – to insult the birthday boy on a day after his birthday. You know I am still waiting for my presents"

"Your presents are out presence" he blonde grinned "Just like last year"

"I am so happy you both came, I love you guys you know that right?" he asked and as he did the grip around her shoulders grew tighter "I mean I love you all too but it's different, we've all been friends for so much longer you know? These are my main girls' right here"

Every moment that she was in the presence of drunk Matt she grew happier, it was not often that she had seen the positive effects of alcohol and she was actually quite glad that she had finally witnessed it. His eyes were wide as he continued to chat with them and even though he had released Louisa from his hold he still had a single arm around Julie's shoulders as he laughed back and forth between the small group.

"I am not dancing – and the only way you'll get me over there is if Louisa comes as well" Julie smirked – Louisa on the other hand went still. She did not dance.

"No" she shook her head "Absolutely not-" but it was too late, Julie was already dragging her towards an even bigger crowd than before "Julie I don't like dancing-"

"Nobody actually likes dancing silly! But it's fun, c'mon"

Even though she wanted to argue, to argue quite loudly and even drag her feet a little she didn't in the end. Causing a scene would be embarrassing and even though the large crowd made her heartrate quicken she took a deep breath and held onto Julie's hand just a little bit harder. Julie pushed her way through the crowd until she was in the very center, it was not as crowded as Louisa had though it would have been but from there she just had no idea what to do.

"Move that body!" that was Lila from behind her "Just start of slow and then move to the beat, you'll fall into a rhythm soon enough!"

At first that was exactly what she did feeling awkward for the rest of the entire song; House music was something she could not stand but she sucked it up nonetheless for her two friends beside her. Only when the song changed and she heard a familiar guitar riff did she begin to smile and as soon as she heard the all too familiar voice of Mark Hoppus did her really begin to sing and enjoy herself. Blink-182 were a band that she had practically grown up on and it was hard to find a song by them that she did not know the words too and as she sung them into the air around her she rocked her body to the drums in a way she had only ever done when she had been alone in her room or in the shower. Julie did not know the words but she was happy to find that Lila did.

" _I fell in love with the girl at the rock show, she said 'What' and I told her that I didn't know, she's so cool I'm gonna' sneak in through her window_ " She and Lila chorused, and even though Julie had no idea what to sing she danced along with them all the same.

Louisa was quite happy with the sudden music change, gone was the house music and in was punk-rock bands such as Panis at the Disco, more Blink-182 and even some Green Day. Before tonight she had not realized that dancing could actually be fun and as the punk rock changed back into music she was not too familiar with she continued dancing all the same. After about an hour of dancing the three girls returned to their prior seats.

"You like Blink?" Rob asked

"Yeah, I love them" she grinned "I used to have all of their albums"

"That's cool; it's hard to find a girl with a good taste in music"

She was glad that it wasn't extremely bright in the backyard, for if it had been he would have surely seen her cheeks glow bright red.

"Hi!"

Louisa turned to find a boy that she had never met before; he was quite tall and wore a printed button up shirt with a pocket on his right side "Hi"

"I think I've seen you around with Matt at work" he said casually "You guys do work together right? Otherwise I've just made a complete fool of myself"

"No, no we do work together" she smiled and as she took in his facial features she tried to remember seeing his face at work – but it was not an easy task.

"You having a good night?" he asked

"Yeah, so far so good" she nodded

"Would you like me to grab you a drink?"

"Oh no, I can't stand alcohol" she insisted politely – the thought of the stuff even touching her lips was enough to make her shiver in discomfort.

"Alright well, I guess I may see you around" he frowned, and then he walked away.

"You are so innocent" Julie laughed loudly from across from her, but Louisa was just confused

"What?" she asked "Innocent? How?"

"He was trying to flirt with you!" Julie laughed "I emphasize the word _trying_ here because you were just having none of it"

 _Flirting_. Just the word made her uncomfortable.

"I didn't even realize" she spluttered "Should I feel bad?"

From beside her Rob laughed, which made her feel a little better about herself.

"No – and don't let Julie make you think otherwise" Lila said seriously "The idea obviously makes you uncomfortable"

"It's not that I just – I have no idea what to do" she said honestly

"But you are gorgeous" Pete blinked "Have you ever had a boyfriend? Have you ever dated someone before?"

"No" she said awkwardly, and tried hard not to feel ashamed about the fact "No to both"

"That isn't a bad thing" Rob said from beside her, his tone nothing but friendly and supportive "I've only been on one date – and it was fucking awful"

For the rest of the night Louisa continued to enjoy her first party and as it grew into the night alcohol continued to pour, but much to her delight Julie kept her word and did not accept a single drink or cigarette. _She did not even flirt with the guys that had approached her_ she thought, which was odd because she always did so at work. Her walls came down a little as she held a steady conversation with Rob beside her and even though he did not comment on her appearance again she often caught him looking at her when he did not think she was looking – but unlike she had been when Godric had caught her staring at him Rob did not grow ashamed or embarrassed; he held her stare and smiled.

He was lovely, completely and utterly lovely.

"I am just so happy that we all became friends so fast" Lila said from across from her "I've worked here and there but I've never really made any strong friendships. I'm just kind of thankful you know? We definitely need to hang outside of work more often"

"I get what you mean" Rob agreed with her "It's good to have friends outside of your normal group"

"Yeah – exactly! I don't know why but you guys are just different. I do not know how or why yet but you all are" she finalized.

"It's nearly one" Julie said as she unlocked her phone, the bright light illuminated her face and even from across from her Louisa could see that her makeup and hair still looked completely perfect despite all the time they had spent dancing and singing "I told mum that was when she could pick me up, I didn't want her waiting up too late for me. Are you sure you didn't want a ride Lou? Mum said that she didn't mind"

"No – no of course not, you guys live in the opposite direction of me" Louisa insisted "Anyway, Lila lives only a couple of minutes from me and she said she didn't mind offering me a ride"

"Alright" Julie nodded; she then took her time saying her goodbyes and disappeared into the crowd to find Matt.

"Are you ready?" Lila asked and when Louisa nodded the red-head stood to her feet and gave Pete and Robb a hug.

Louisa gave Pete a small hug but she paused when she turned to face Rob – was it going to be awkward hugging him?

"I'll see you on Monday" he grinned; he then took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her in a way that no other had ever done before. And it was nice; incredibly intimate unlike the one that she had just shared with Pete. After a moment of surprise she slowly returned the embrace

"I'll see you Monday" she replied softly.

Finding Matt was her next task and it did not take her very long to do so – he was now absolutely, positively drunk and when she hugged him goodbye she could only laugh when his hands dropped a little low to be considered friendly "I hope that you have the best hangover tomorrow morning" she grinned

"Thas' not nice" he laughed loudly "Not nice at all"

Once again they were lead through Matt's beautiful house by his parents and soon they were both sitting inside of Lila's beaten up old jeep (of course in the colour red) and Louisa soon found out that she loved her car more than any of her other possessions.

"I just love my little car" she smiled "I love driving her too, just for the sake of driving you know? It can be so peaceful"

"I wouldn't know, I never really had anyone to teach me how to drive" Louisa admitted

"I'd be more than happy to teach you!" she insisted as she placed the key into the ignition and started up the car "Just let me know when you're free"

"I couldn't possibly ask you to do that" Louisa frowned "It'd be too much trouble"

"It would not. You have my number now; seriously if you ever want a few basic lessons just let me know. So, I couldn't help but notice that you and Rob look quite comfortable together – the hug you guys shared was quite, er, how do I put it? Friendly"

"Rob – Rob is lovely" she said simply

"Lovely?" she repeated

"Matt um, Matt said he's asked about me – but you heard what I said at the party, I've never dated ever" said Louisa quietly from the passenger side seat "I wouldn't even know what to do in the first place, what to talk about or how to act. He is nice and so polite and always compliments me and I just don't really know how I feel about it"

"If he asks you out have you thought of what you'd say?"

"No" she shook her head "I haven't, the idea of it is just so funny – that someone like that would be interested in someone like me"

"You doubt yourself Louisa, you really do. Say yes – well, I think you should. Say yes and then see how you feel, test the waters and all that. At the end of the night if you don't think that you feel the same way that it's okay, Rob seems like a great guy and I find it hard to believe that he would hold anything against you"

Lila's house was quite small, but that took nothing away from the charm. It was built of red brick and was surrounded by a red and white picket fence; something that would have struck her as odd if she hadn't known who Lila was "I do not like the idea of you walking back" Lila began "It just-"

"Two minutes, honestly I live two minutes away and you have already done enough for me as it is" Louisa insisted "Please, I would feel so bad if you had to go out of you way"

"Louisa-"

"Lila" she smiled "Seriously, I am fine. I used to work Saturday nights and I would always walk home, nothing has ever happened – I promise I will send you a message as soon as I get home"

"Okay" the redhead gave him "And if you don't message me I am driving over anyway, and that is a promise" she said sternly

"I promise I will text you" she smiled "Thank you again for the ride home"

 _Thank God I sat down most of the night_ she thought, her feet were not sore at all which was something she was quite happy about – the only bad thing about the night was that it had grown rather chilly outside and the dress that she was wearing did nothing to cover the goosebumps that now covered her arms and legs. That and the fact that she was still not used to wearing shoes that had a heel and instead of her usual fast pace she was walking quite slow. It was definitely going to take her more than a few minutes to walk home – but it was nothing that she hadn't done before. It was only when she turned onto her street a few minutes later that her senses became aware as a second pair of footsteps could be heard from behind her. _Normal – it's just normal; someone is walking home just like you are this very second_. Louisa shook her head and moved to the left hand side so that whoever was behind her could overtake her easily if they wanted to, something she usually would not do if she was wearing normal shoes. _They must be slow walkers too_ she frowned, but her calm demeanor began to slip as the footsteps grew closer and closer.

One of the things that she had done with her first few paychecks from work was organize some self-defense classes, she was not the best in the entire class but she could definitely hold her own if the situation called for it. It was the shoes and dress that worried her though. Whoever was following her was surely behind her now and it was then that she threw caution to the wind and turned slightly to get a good look at whoever it was. Luckily, she did not lose her footing as she eyed a tall man who looked to be in his mid to late twenties; his arms were covered with tattoos and after a second she found it hard to find a spare space on his skin.

"Someone as pretty as you should not be walking home alone at night" he grinned, and then continued to eye her up and down like she was something to eat – it made her want to be violently ill.

"Not everyone has a license" she said calmly – _she hoped_ "Can I help you with anything?" She was nearly home; she could see the building from here which made her feel slightly better

"You can help me with a lot of things honey, you wanna find out what they are?"

"No thank you" she mumbled

"In that outfit you're practically asking for it" he laughed, it was then that she felt his hand at the bottom of her dress; his fingers skimmed the back of her thigh and she flinched

"Don't touch me" she warned

"What you gonna' do?" he laughed; he then took a step forward and tugged on the bottom of her dress. It happened so fast she could barely believe she had acted so fast; one moment she was walking away from him and the next she had spun around and was slamming her palm into his nose as hard as she could. The man fell and when he landed on his knees he swore so loudly it echoed through the otherwise quiet street and Louisa did not wait another second to stare. As fast as she could manage in the shoes that she wore she hurried her way up the street – she was nearly home, only three more houses left and she would be standing outside of her place.

This time she did not hear his footsteps and not for the first time in her life she felt a hand yank on her hair, the force sent her reeling backwards and into a solid chest. She cried out in pain and clawed at his hand but it was doing her no good, his grip only grew tighter as she continued to struggle. _Use your surroundings, don't panic – don't panic._ After screaming the words to herself over and over again she glanced to the ground – and saw his foot. Without thinking she lifted her knee and stomped down to where his toes surely were and when he howled in pain she could not help but feel satisfied. For the second time he released her, but she did not simply walk this time – she ran.

Her apartment building was now only a single house away, but the heeled boots that she had fallen in love with prevented her from reaching her destination in time. His hand was around her neck a moment later and without the warning she choked on the little breath that she had left, she barely registered another hand coming around her waist as he pulled her to the side of her building. Her scrams were muffled, and even when her foot came down onto his other toes he did not release his hold – instead he swore violently and threw her against the wall. Louisa's head smashed into the brick and it made her see stars, it also have her no warning to the first that was now flying in her direction; she barely felt it, the pain in the front of her head far too painful to register his knuckles.

"That'll teach you to fuck with me" he snarled, and he was so close to her that she could feel his breath on her face. She knew that it was now or never, and even though all she wanted to do was cry due to the pain that she felt from the hits she had taken she shoved him and elbowed him in the face; exactly where she had hit him earlier. Louisa did not wait to see him hit the ground before she was running and when she dashed around the corner she slammed the door open with all of her might and continued to run up the stairs. Every time she tripped on her way up more tears threatened to spill down her face – but she held them in, she was nearly safe. Her hands shook as she retrieved her hidden key from under her doormat and after she had unlocked her door she did not place it back, instead she locked her door as quickly as she could and then continued to slide down against it. _Lila is going to be furious with me_. And that was all that was going through her mind, not what would have happened to her if she had not just gotten away but what her friend would think of her if she told her. _You are in idiot Louisa Marie, a complete and utter fool._ Her hands shook as she opened a new text in her phone and after a few spell checks she sent a message to Lila.

 _I just got home, nothing to worry about. Have a good night and thank you again for dropping me home._


	6. the Confrontation

**Restless  
Chapter Five – the Confrontation  
Word Count**: 4,003 (just a short one, sorry!)  
 **Notes:** Hey guys – first off I would just like to say thank you for all of the favourites and follows, I don't think I will ever be able to express just how much that means to me. With this story I am actually a few chapters ahead now, but nonetheless would love to hear some ideas from all of you! Don't forget to rate and review, as I really do like reading about what I can possibly improve on. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter!

 **-0-**

When Louisa woke up on Sunday morning she quickly became aware of a few things; one that she was still sitting against her locked door, two that her feet were absolutely killing her and three that the pain in her feet was absolutely nothing compared to the ache that was the entire side of her face. After a moment of silence she slowly kicked off her shoes and let them fall to the floor, only then did she rise to her feet and head towards her bedroom. A clean room greeted her and as much as she tried to avoid the tall mirror on her wardrobe as she walked passed she could not help, for just a single moment, glance upon her reflection. Her hair was the first thing that she looked at; for a moment she grimaced at the thought of just having to comb it until she took a real good look at the damage that had been done to her face. Not even her father had ever done such a job on her when he had been at his worst. A black eye had formed quickly and the graze on her forehead thanks to the bricks of her buildings wall had a little bit of dried blood around the edges; she was going to need a little more than her adequate makeup skills to hide them.

With a shake of her head she left her reflection behind and carried on towards her small bathroom, with every step she wined in pain until she stopped to turn on the hot water as far as it could go. Slowly she stripped herself of her clothes and without a moments hesitation she stepped into the steaming hot stream of water and closed her eyes – tears stung her eyes and threatened to fall as the boiling hot water cascaded her skin but yet she refused to let them fall; she refused to show such weakness to herself. Whoever had done this to her the night before was not worth her tears or her pain and that was what she repeated to herself over and over again as she tried to untangle the knotted mess that was her hair with continued doses of conditioner until she could finally comb through her locks with her fingers. The real test of her inner strength was not turning off the hot shower and stepping onto the cool tile but actually having to see her naked body in the mirror and the dark bruise that circled her waist, something she had missed earlier due to her clothes. Louisa shut her eyes and wrapped her body in a warm, fluffy white towel and with that she re-entered her living are and retrieved her phone and after only a moment of searching through her short contact list pressed the call button when she found Gemma's name.

"Hello?" Gemma said, she had answered after only the second ring

"Gemma, its Louisa" she croaked, she then cleared her throat and attempted to sound a little more like her usual self "I'm not feeling to well, I think I may have picked up an awful virus last night"

"Oh dear are you alright?" her boss asked, her voice was full of genuine concern and that only made Louisa wasn't to cry all the more "I can replace your shifts honey don't you worry about that, how long do you think you're going to be away for?"

"I'm not too sure but I feel awful, I think a week is going to be for the best, I don't want anyone catching what I have"

"Consider it done Louisa, you just feel better okay! Do you want me to bring you anything?"

"No, no I am fine" she insisted "I don't really want to be near anyone right now, I hope you understand"

"Of course! You just let me know though, I can drop anything around – you hear me?" her boss said sternly, it made her smile

"I do, loud and clear. See you Gem, thanks' for everything"

"Always honey, now you rest up"

"I will, I promise" Louisa smiled into the phone and then she hung up. For a long time Louisa simply held her mobile phone in her hand and fought the urge to call back her boss and tell the woman everything that had actually occurred the night before – but she knew that if she told Gemma then the others at work would possibly find out as well and that was something she was not willing to risk.

The rest of her day was spent in the confinement of her bed, for hours she read a couple of the books she had picked up from one of her favourite second hand bookshops earlier in the week and once she had grown tired of that she had nearly completed another drawing – of Godric of course. The drawing in particular was one that she had started two weeks ago, it had all begun with his shirt first and slowly, slowly she moved her way up the page – now all she had left to do was add in her tattoo's and she was finished. As she traced faint lines with her pencil of the design that would soon be the tattoo on his left bicep she thought about all of his tattoos, and then she thought about him. To be honest her mind was still trying to work its way around the fact that he had once been a slave and sold to someone at such a young age and the fact that he had opened up to her about such a personal story to begin with – it shocked her, it still shocked her. Looking at it from the outside she was a seventeen year old girl and he was a two-thousand year old Vampire who had seen more than she could ever even imagine; to say that they were a little different from one another would be a complete understatement.

When she was done drawing all of his tattoos she glanced down at her finished product, she then had the sudden realization that what she was doing was completely and utterly weird. This was now her fourth drawing of him and as she flipped through her sketchbook and glanced from drawing to drawing she took in the close details and grimaced for the second time for the day – it was actually quite frightening how close to detail they all were. It was as if she had memorized every little aspect about him so that they were now etched into the corners of her mind, impossible to forget – but she couldn't help it, he was truly a beautiful being and it was quite difficult to ignore.

As Sunday grew into Monday Louisa slept and ate very little, not only was her appetite nearly non-existent but her food stock was growing incredibly low. But she did not want to go outside, not yet – if worst came to worse she would phone up and order Chinese or maybe even pizza. _I am scared to leave my home_. It was something that she had not thought or felt in six months on such a scale.

"Enough is enough" she said quietly to herself

No longer would she walk alone at night, it was a promise that she decided then and there that she was going to make to herself. The events that had occurred after Matt's part were something that could have been so easily avoided because not one but two people had offered to drive her straight home and without a second thought she turned them down. It was not her fault that she was attacked, but in the end she knew she had only herself to blame for being so careless with her life and not taking things as seriously as she should. How often had people told her that it was not safe to walk alone in the middle of the night? Disappointment swelled inside of her; another feeling that was awfully foreign to her especially when it concerned herself and at that moment it felt as if it was attempting to eat her from the inside out.

"I don't want to die" she said to herself, and that was that. From now on she was going to start taking better care of herself because even though she wasn't doing anything productive with her life, that she dropped out of school, worked at a small diner to make ends meet, only had a handful of friends to keep her company not to mention no family that she wanted to contact she did not want to die – she wanted to live. Louisa took a deep breath and shut her sketchbook, she then placed it at the end of her couch and placed her head in her hands – she was only seventeen, she hadn't even been kissed yet, hadn't done any of the thing she had once wanted to do.

The sound of knocking on her door made her heart skip several beats, it was a Monday night and it was late – who on Earth could be on the other side of her door? _No_ , she thought – it wasn't him, he didn't know that she lived her – he didn't know what room she stayed in. The man that attacked her could not possibly know any of those things.

"Louisa?" His voice came suddenly from the other side of the door, a voice that did not make her panic any less "I was just at Gemma's and your co-worker told me that you were feeling rather ill. Are you alright?"

Louisa gasped for air as she had forgotten to breathe. Her entire both shook slightly – Godric was here and he was standing outside, he was here and if she opened the door he was going to see exactly what she looked like; he would see her disgusting black eye and the wound to her head, not to mention the bruised waist that was very visible in the clothes that she wore. She bit her lip a she stood to her feet and walked closer to the door.

"I've got a really bad headache" she lied "I don't really feel up for a visit Godric, maybe when I'm feeling better you can come back around?"

"A headache?" he asked

"Yeah, it's shocking – I think it's turning into a migraine" she continued

"I think that you're lying"

"W-what?" she stuttered – there was no way that he could possibly know that she was telling him a lie, it was impossible. She had not seen anyone since the incident had occurred on Saturday night and unless Godric had been there when the man had attacked her he could not possibly know anything.

"You're lying to me" he repeated

"How on Earth do you come to that conclusion?"

"Well, you haven't let me in" he began and before she could answer he continued "And secondly, Vampires are very much human lie detectors Louisa – I can hear your heartbeat even through your locked door"

Louisa's heart skipped a few more beat as she mentally weighed her options; she could tell him to leave her alone or she could open the door and let him in. For a long time she simply stood there and breathed without moving a single muscle, but after a few minutes she exhaled and began to unlock her door.

"I'm-" she paused "Well, I guess you're just about to see aren't you?" she sighed and with a single shake of her head she unbolted her security door and pulled it open.

Godric was grinning on the other side of the door, but it only lasted a fraction of a second seeing as it faded as soon as he took in her appearance. Yes, long gone was the smile that she had grown so fond of and instead he wore a blank expression, but that too soon faded and instead was replaced with a look so dangerous it made her shiver slightly in her door frame. Louisa stepped backwards so that he could enter if he chose to and instead of walking around her Godric took a single step towards her so that their feet were just barely touching. His eyes were the most amazing feature, but in this very moment they were cold and hard as they travelled every inch of her skin. It felt like an eternity but he finally stepped around her and inside, it was then that she pulled her door shut and locked it. When Louisa turned around she walked straight into him. He was standing utterly still, and so very close to her it made the hair on her arms rise.

"Who did this to you?" he asked calmly, but at the same time was able to look utterly terrifying

"I don't know" she said quietly in return

"Tell me what happened" he then demanded, and he left no room for a discussion on the matter.

"I went to Matt's part on Friday and when I was walking home-" Louisa began, but she paused as Godric _growled_ "I was walking home and yes I know that I should not have done it, and I know that this is all my fault and that I should have just let someone drop me home to my door but I didn't and now I have to – I have to live with it, the decision that I made and that is something I am coming to terms with. At first I was able to hold him off, or I thought anyway – I think I broke his nose, but just before I reached the building the guy that attacked me pulled me down the side of the building by my throat and – well, I tried to run but I wasn't quick enough" she sighed

"Did he-" Godric asked, and for a moment his stormy face fell to one of utter sadness "Louisa, did he touch you-" but he then stopped, it seemed as if he did not want to finish his sentence. It was okay though; she knew what he was asking.

"No" she broke eye contact then, it had become too much to bear "He threw me against the wall which was how I got the graze on my head and then he did this-" she pointed to her black eye "-he was about to hit me aging, I'm sure he was but I shoved him away and was able to land a blow with my elbow. I didn't look back after that"

Godric was still in front of her for a very long time and even though Louisa would still not look into his face she could feel his eyes expecting every inch of her skin for damage. It was only when she felt his cool fingertips on her stomach did she flinch in fright and shock "This should not have happened to you, and I don't ever want to hear you say that it was your fault ever again" he muttered

"I'm not going to break" she said softly, and only then did she turn to face him again "This is bad, I'm not going to lie but I'm fine now – it's nothing that I haven't been put through before"

"This is not something that you should be pushing aside Louisa, like incidents like this are normal" he snapped angrily and the sudden change of demeanor made her jump

"I'm – I'm sorry"

"No – no, Louisa I am the one who should be sorry" he sighed "I never – I didn't mean to snap at you" With that he walked away from her; towards the counter where her phone currently sat. He opened it and pressed a few buttons before closing it once more "I have saved my contact information into your phone, if you ever find yourself in that situation again -"

"I'll call" she finished his sentence for him "I promise I'll call"

"You promise?" he asked sternly "Even if it is simply for a ride home, you swear to me that you will contact me"

"Yes" she nodded, and then for the first time in a couple of days she smiled "You truly are something Godric"

"Something?" he asked

"Yes" she nodded "something" but her smile slipped as Godric eyed the sketchbook that was still sitting in her couch, the same sketchbook that held all of the drawings oh _him_.

"Have I seen this before?" he asked – but a moment later, pain or no pain, she was beside the couch and had the sketchbook clutched in her hands and behind her back quicker than she thought could ever be possible in her current state.

"Actually no, this sketchbook is rather private" she explained quickly

"Ah" he smirked "Anything important?"

"No" she laughed awkwardly

"Then why are you hiding it from me?"

"Because I can't share all of my secrets with you" she muttered

"Hmm" he murmured, he then took another step closer and her breath caught in her throat. It was as if he was challenging her and only then was she aware of just how close they were standing to one another – she could have sworn only moments ago he was standing in her kitchen with her phone in his hands "You know if I really wanted to I could have it within the blink of an eye"

"Yes but I don't think you're going to do that"

"And why not, little one?"

"Because you wouldn't" She said with a shake of her head "You just wouldn't"

"Alright, I will not, on one condition, if I may ask"

"Okay" she agreed instantly

"I would like for you to accompany me this Friday night" he said and her mouth fell open in shock, it was nearly enough for her to let go of her sketchbook but thankfully she didn't.

"Accompany?" she squeaked

"Yes – it seems that I have to attend a gathering with some of the vampires within the area and it would be a lot more enjoyable if you were there with me"

"Not like a – a date though?"

"No" he smirked.

The first time that Godric had entered Gemma's she somehow just knew that he was special – a Vampire no, but special yes. She had tried to hide her shock when he ordered a bottle of their synthetic blood and deep down she knew that she had done an absolutely horrible job – but she tried nonetheless. Amongst him being special she was also very, very aware of his good looks – but never before had such looks had the effete on her body that they did in that very moment. His smirk, it did things.

"Um, okay, sure, sure that will be fine" she replied

"Okay" he said, "You can put the book down, I promise that I won't peek unless I have your permission. But I won't lie to you, I must admit I am very curious as to what lies in the pages"

"Maybe one day I'll show you" she said, but that was a lie – something she now knew he could detect "Is this event Friday formal?"

"No, it is not formal" he said with a small shake of his head "Don't go through great measures Louisa, you will look lovely in whatever you decide I'm sure"

"U-" but she couldn't finish her sentence, she was still trying to get over the fact that he had said she would look lovely.

"Checkers?" he asked

"N-no" She stuttered "You always beat me"

"Would you prefer that I let you win?" he asked

"No!" she cried "I will beat you on my own – one day"

That was a lie; she knew it was. It only took her a couple of minutes to set up the checkers board and once they sat down she motioned for him to take the first move – but he didn't. When she looked at him she realized that he wasn't paying attention to the game in front of them at all, he was too busy looking at her neck.

"I'm fine" she said sincerely "It does not even hurt anymore, I promise"

"No, you're not" he said with a shake of his head "You were not meant for bruises and black eyes Louisa" Suddenly, Godric rose to his feet and sat beside her and as she looked into his pale face and bright eyes she could not remember ever seeing him look as serious as he did in that very moment "I want you to do something for me"

"Okay" she nodded and while she did she tried to push her nerves down – he was sitting so close to her she could actually feel his knee brush against her own and even though it was something so small it made the hair on her arms stand once again. Her eyes grew wide as his fangs appeared, and she watched in amazement as he bit into his own wrist.

"Godric!" she cried out "What on Earth are you doing!"

"I want you to drink my blood" he said

"Pardon me?" she squeaked "You want me to what?"

"I should have explained" he chuckled "Vampire blood, it has healing properties – your bruises, everything will heal in a matter of seconds as soon as it touches your tongue"

"I couldn't possibly-"

"Please, Louisa" he said softly "It, it disturbs me on a level that I cannot even explain to see you in such a state. Please"

She was silent for a moment, and then she looked to his wrist once more. The cuts that his fangs had made had already healed, but some blood remained – with a finger she wiped the remains so that the bright red fluid stained her fingertip. After inspecting the redness on her finger she looked at Godric, placed her finger in her mouth and sucked. The taste exploded on her taste buds – she couldn't remember ever tasting anything as delicious as this.

"I don't understand" she said

"What?"

"I just – it tastes amazing" she blushed

"You don't have to feel embarrassed" he insisted

"So if blood tastes that good-" she felt so wrong for saying it aloud, but she couldn't help it, her curiosity was at a whole new high "Why do you never drink the synthetic stuff?"

"The bottled blood has nothing compared to human blood Louisa, I assure you that"

"Then why?" she asked

"It would look rather odd if I was sitting without it, wouldn't I?"

She was about to reply when his hand came to her face and brushed over her black eye "That's better"

No way – it was not possible. She should have been embarrassed that he had touched her so softly not the mention intimately, but instead she was too busy rushing into her bedroom to inspect her face to really take notice – and when she did she could not believe what she saw. Her black eye was gone, the damage on her forehead was gone as well – it was as if nothing had ever happened on Saturday at all.

"Oh my God" she mumbled "Does – do humans know about this?"

"No, and I would be very grateful if you kept this between us"

"I can understand why – you have my word. It makes me wonder what else you can do"

"I can fly"

She did not reply as she walked back into the main living area to stare at the Vampire still sitting on the ground "You can _fly?_ "

"Yes" he said with a short nod

"Oh my" she grinned "What else?"

"Speed, strength, keener senses – we also have a way with compulsion"

"So, like mind control?"

"Yes"

"That's, well, that's just as impressive as the flying" she laughed and sat down in front of him once more "Can you use it on me?"

"I can, but I won't" he frowned "I would never use such a thing on you, unless it was absolutely necessary"

"Can you take my flying then?"

"One day" he smiled "But not tonight. Tonight, we play checkers"

 **end**.

Note: Please review


	7. the Favor

**Restless  
Chapter Six: **the Favor  
 **Words:** 5,211 **  
Notes:** I am incredibly, utterly nervous about this chapter which is why it has taken me so long to post – I hope you all enjoy it! *sweats nervously* Review and let me know what you think! **  
Disclaimer:** I do not own True Blood.

 **-0-**

In the morning when she woke the first thing Louisa did was look at her reflection in the mirror once more, just to check that the night before had actually happened and that her bruises were still gone. She was not disappointed with what she saw. Her skin was pristine to say the least – no bruises, no abrasions. There was also something different, something odd that she simply could not place a finger on but with a shake of her head she ignored the thoughts and went searching for her phone to call her boss.

"Gemma – hey, I just wanted to let you know I'm feeling tons better so if you need me in tonight I'm more than happy to come in" she said happily as soon as the woman answered

"Are you sure honey?" Gemma's voice asked from the opposite end "I wouldn't wanna' push you or anything"

"No, honestly I'm feeling great" she insisted

"Well I definitely ain't gonna stop ya – I'll see you in a couple of hours"

She hung up her phone and took a seat on her couch, a couple of moments later she glanced at the clock and was absolutely astounded – it was 10:30 in the morning – she had slept more than seven hours last night. It had been years, _years_ since she had slept more than four hours let alone eight. Who knew that Vampire blood could do so much for you? When it was time for her to get ready for work she took her time in the shower and just as much time getting dressed; her good mood lasted and had not changed by the time she walked through the doors and sent Gemma a wave who was standing behind the counter with a magazine between her hands.

"Afternoon" Louisa beamed "How has it been this morning?"

"The usual Hun, now are you sure you're up to working? Rob comes in at four and I'm sure he and Matty can work the shift by themselves"

"No – honestly I'm feeling great"

"Well, you look it" Gemma smiled as she eyed the girl up and down "Your skin looks amazing, and so does your hair"

"Thanks" Louisa smiled shyly "I don't know why, I haven't been doing anything differently lately"

Louisa's afternoon went by in a complete daze, she laughed as Gemma told her filthy joked and listened to the stories her customers told her with a smile. Rob was walking through the doors before she knew it and he sent her a wink as soon as they made eye contact "Feeling better?" he asked "Gem said you weren't feeling to hot"

"Loads" she grinned "Must have caught a really nasty bug or something"

"That's good. Hey, I was wondering-"

But she had to cut him short, she sent him an apologetic look as a two teenagers walked through the doors and headed towards the counter "I won't be a sec, let me just get these guys out of the way and then you can ask me whatever you would like"

The two young girls ordered two pieces of chocolate cake with a side of vanilla ice-cream and it only took her a couple of minutes to throw it all together and once she was done she walked up to Rob and smiled "Sorry – what was it that you wanted to ask me?"

"I uh-" he started; his eyes soon avoided hers as he ran a single hand through his hair. Today he had chosen to wear it down and his blonde locks barely brushed his shoulders, she did not think that most guys got away with long hair but Rob pulled off the look expertly "I wanted to know if you wanted to go out with me Friday night?"

She felt so many things at once; excitement was one and then soon after was dread, then it was happiness that was followed closely by nervousness. On top of everything she wanted to say yes, no – she wanted to scream yes – but she had made a promise to Godric and that was something that she was not about to break "Friday?" she asked

"Yes" he nodded, and he was so nervous – so utterly nervous and it was so easy to see. It did not put her off; in fact it made her want to say yes even more.

"I really, really do want to go out with you Robert, but I am so sorry, I already have plans and I can't cancel them" she said

"No – no it's fine, honestly" he smiled, and only then did he finally meet her eyes "Are you free Saturday then?"

"Sure" She blurted out "I mean yes – yes I have no plans"

"Really?" he asked, and when she nodded he smiled "I'll pick you up at seven"

"I'll try and make sure I'm ready" she laughed "Though I can't make any promises. What should I wear?"

"Anything, you'll look great in anything"

With that, she blushed and turned around to serve a customer. Matt arrived an hour later, she waved to him as he walking through the doors before she turned back to table she had been cleaning moments before. She stacked the dirty plates on top of one another and placed them in the kitchen and was about to walk back out onto the floor when Matt stood in her way.

"Hey – how was your Sunday morning hangover" she grinned

"Great – but we're not talking about that instead we are going to talk about the fact that Rob actually asked you out!"

"What? How do you even know about that already?"

"Because he text me and said he was going to do it today, and I told him that he'd chicken out – and he didn't. Have you told Jules yet?"

"How am I supposed to tell her Matt, he asked me at work – and I'm still at work?"

"Do you know where he's taking you?"

"Matt, you sound like a girl" she smiled

"Hey, don't make fun of me because I'm excited alright" he pouted "You gotta let me know how it all goes, and if I do not receive a text from you Saturday night I'm just going to assume the worst"

His implication made her cheeks burn "Alright we need to go to work"

Throughout the night she caught Rob staring at her on a number of occasions, and each time she did it made her smile. She was going on a date, with a boy – and attractive boy. She simply could not wait. At 9:30, Godric walked through the doors – and to say she was surprised was an understatement. He never came in this early, never. She walked towards the counter and sent him a confused smile "You're here so early, is there a special occasion?"

"Not particularly" he mused "I had a feeling you would be back to work today"

"If I had stayed home I would have been bored" she shrugged "AB negative?"

"Please"

His drink was prepared by the minute, and when she turned around to continue her chat with Matt and Rob she found them both staring at her with confused expressions on their faces.

"Who was that?" Rob asked

"Godric, he comes in here a lot"

"You're on a first name basis with a Vampire?"

"Yeah" her smile faltered "Is that a problem?"

"No" he said quickly "It's just a surprise is all"

"How did he know you weren't at work yesterday?" Matt frowned

"He knew I was sick, we hang out outside of work sometimes" she shrugged "He's a killer checkers player"

Louisa could have sworn she heard his faint laugh from where she stood, but she told herself she must have just imagined it – Godric barely ever laughed.

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

"I need your help" Louisa spoke into her phone in a rush "I don't know what the hell I'm going to do"

"What time is he going to pick you up?" Julie asked

"Nine"

"Alright I'll lend the car from mum and drive over. By the time you get out of the shower I'll be there"

"Thank you, thank you Julie" Louisa exhaled and when Julie hung up she threw her phone onto her bed. She would not have known what to do if Julie had been busy because even though Godric had told her that she didn't have to dress up she had a feeling that the Vampires she would be in the company of tonight would not be wearing jeans. But her friend had been right; she was wrapping her dripping wet hair in a towel when there was a knock on her front door.

"I cannot believe you're going on a date with a Vampire!" Julie beamed when she let her inside "And you didn't even tell me about it!"

"It isn't a date" she frowned "It's a favor for a friend"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night Lou"

"Speaking of dates" Louisa cleared her throat "Um, Rob and I are going out tomorrow night"

"What!" Julie practically screamed in shock "When did this happen and why on Earth am I only just finding out now?"

"Because I haven't seen you since he asked me, which was only two days ago"

"No excuse, that is absolutely no excuse Louisa Marie you have my mobile number!"

"That's what Matt said" she groaned, but that did not make matters any better

"Matt knows? Matt knew before I did! I feel betrayed" she mumbled "Alright, I'm going to do your hair first, you're lucky I bought all my supplies with me"

When they entered her room Julie dumped her bag on Louisa's bed and out spilled a hair-dryer, two straighteners and three different sized curlers "Why on Earth do you have so many?" Louisa asked

"Because each barrel is different in size, and each does a different curl" she explained as she helped Louisa free her hair from the towel "Now sit down on the bed, have you god a power source in here I can use – oh no, don't worry I see it now"

Julie blow-dried her hair like a professional and even though the length of her hair was quite long it took her no time at all – or so it seemed. It was then that she retrieved a straightening iron "Your hair is spectacular, it's so healthy" Julie mused "Let me guess, you get it cut every ten to twelve weeks and have never died it not even once"

"Correct" she laughed awkwardly "Is that a bad thing?"

"Oh my God, no, please for the sake of my health never stop doing exactly what you're doing"

After Julie finished her hair her friend then set to work on her makeup and while she did chatted about everything any anything; though often the source of conversation was either Godric or Rob. Once she was done Louisa wandered into her bathroom to put away her supplies and only then did she take a look in the mirror; she couldn't help but laugh – even though she had used all of the same products her makeup looked ten times better now that Julie was the one applying it. The look itself was rather timeless; only simple foundation with no blush but a tiny bit of bronzer paired with some red lipstick and winged eyeliner. And her hair – her hair looked absolutely amazing and she was tempted to ask Julie where she had gotten the styling tools. The large curls had held nicely and they floated down her backside in a perfect wave. She had never seen herself look so nice before.

"Alright – he told you not to dress up, which means we need to work with something smart and casual" Julie mused as she pulled her wardrobe open "Okay, I think I have an idea – put these on for me and we'll see how you look"

Louisa did not argue as she pulled on a long sleeved maroon crop top and shimmied her way into some black high-waist skinny jeans. Once she was done her friend handed her some black boots. When she looked into the mirror once again she was simply so shocked with what she saw starring back at her; it looked like her face, her body and her hair but at the same time she looked like a complete and utter stranger. And the cleavage – it still made her uncomfortable even though she knew that she was dressed quite respectful. Maybe she would change the shirt once Julie left.

"Thank you for everything Jules, I could not have done this without you-" Louisa began, but stopped once she walked out of her bedroom and saw Godric standing in her kitchen beside the blonde. His eyes were suddenly glued to her in a way that she was not used to, and behind him Julie was giving her two thumbs up and making no attempt to hide the large smile that she wore.

"You look amazing, and it was absolutely no problem at all. I'm going to head off now, but you have a good night – don't forget to text when you get home tomorrow night!" she said, and with a small wave she shut the door behind her therefore leaving her alone with Godric.

He was still staring at her and as he continued to do so she rubbed her lips together and hoped that her lipstick hadn't smudged "I cannot remember ever being this nervous" she blurted out, and Godric in return laughed – something he very rarely did in her presence. He started to walk towards her then and as he approached her nerves grew.

"You have nothing to be nervous about little one" he said, and glanced down quickly to study her once more "I do take my previous comments back though, you don't look lovely Louisa – there is simply not a word that comes to mind that I can use to compliment you"

She shifted her weight from foot to foot and tried to think of something to say in return, instead for the first time that evening she took a moment to see what he was wearing. Instead of his usual soft cotton shirt and pants he wore a fitted, grey long sleeved shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans – you could just see his tattoos peeking out from under the collar "You look rather handsome yourself you know, I don't think I have ever seen you donned in anything apart from the cotton shirts and pants" she smiled

"Are you ready?" he asked

"Yes"

"We'll take our leave then"

Louisa locked her apartment and followed Godric down the stairs and out into the cool air, to her utter surprise once more he lead her towards the flash, sleek black car sitting on the side of the road "You drive?" She asked

"Yes" he grinned, and opened up the passenger door for her

"Where is this gathering being held?" she asked

"My home" he said "It's not too far from here, a twenty minute drive at most"

"Okay"

"You really are awfully nervous" he grinned, having taken a seat beside her in the driver's seat

"I know, sorry"

"Don't apologies Louisa – no harm will come to you tonight, I can promise you this"

"I'm not worried about being hurt" she laughed and met Godric's eyes "Don't look at me, eyes on the road!"

"I am a fantastic driver" he smirked "You have nothing to worry about"

"Yes, yes now eyes on the road" she insisted, he did as he was told and looked to the road once more "I have no doubt in my mind that I'll be fine tonight, I just – you're the only Vampire I have ever met, and now I'm going to be meeting many, many more. I just have no idea what I'm even going to say"

"Louisa you don't need to worry about such things – their opinion of you doesn't matter in the slightest and I know that Isabel will adore you, she has wanted to meet you for quite a while now"

"Really? You've never told me that before"

Godric drove them outside of the city and it didn't take too long at all before they were heading up a rather large driveway and towards a house. It wasn't too big but it definitely wasn't small – to be honest it was rather average – not that she had expected anything less or more – but he was a vampire and for some reason the whole castle thing was still stuck in her mind. The car stopped and in the blink of an eye Godric was outside and had opened her door for her once more, she grinned at the gesture and stood to her feet, shifting in the comfortable boots she had chosen to wear. He lead her to the front door and held it open as she walked through – once she was inside he was at her side in an instant while she took everything in. It was not very crowded but she suspected that all of the guests had not arrived yet, and as she was led through the house she couldn't help but admire the soft furniture and the artwork hanging on the walls. Soon enough they walked into a room that was occupied by a single Vampire – and she had to be the most beautiful woman that Louisa had ever laid eyes upon. Her hair was as dark as the night's sky and was pinned at the sides, but she could see that it cascaded down her backside in even waves. The red dress she wore clung to her elegant figure and fell to her knees, it was so simple yet something she was sure cost more than what she earned in a month at Gemma's.

"Sheriff" the Vampire greeted

"Isabel" Godric nodded in return as he took a seat on the lone couch in the middle of the room "I do believe you have wanted to meet Louisa for quite some time now"

"Indeed Godric" She smiled before taking a step towards where Louisa stood "My name is Isabel Beaumont"

"Louisa Marie" she smiled and accepted her hand "It's lovely to meet you"

"I cannot help but agree" she smiled, and her gaze drifted towards her cheek "You have recently healed child, may I ask who would do such a thing?"

"I -" but she didn't know what to say in response

"Isabel" Godric began, and his tone was one that she was not familiar with – it had been full of authority and a dash of anger.

"My apologies, I was curious" she glanced over to where Godric was seated before turning to her once more "I have a few matters I need to discuss with Stan, but I will be back to join you shortly"

"We have very good eyesight" Godric explained once she had left the room "And even better senses, I apologize on her behalf"

"You don't need to apologize" she shook her head "So" she began "You bring me to this gathering that you just have to attend and you're going to sit in here-" she pointed to the room they were sitting in "-Instead of socializing out there" she pointed towards the door "With all your friends"

"They are not so much my friends" he murmured "Acquaintances fit the description better"

"How often do you have to attend these things?"

"More often than I would like too" he smiled "Thank you, for agreeing to accompany me tonight"

"It wasn't any trouble, I don't know if I'll be any good company or not but I'll give it my best shot"

"You doubt yourself far too often for my liking little one"

"So do you" She smiled

It was honestly like they were back at her apartment and talking how they always did, after a while her nervousness faded to a light dull.

"Favourite colour" Godric asked

"Red. And yours?"

"Blue. Season?"

"Winter, I love the cold"

"We have that in common" he grinned "If you could live anywhere, where would it be?"

"I wouldn't know, I haven't seen the world"

A knock at the door stopped her from asking another question

"Sheriff" It was Isobel

"Come in" Godric said

"Stan would like a word" she smiled rather regretfully "I told him you were with company tonight, but he insisted"

Godric stood from his seat but before he moved he looked down to where she sat

"I'm sure I won't be eaten while you're gone" She smiled, though she didn't think he found it very funny with the way he was now looking at her

"I will stay with Louisa" Isobel offered

Godric retreated for the door but not before whispering something she couldn't even begin to make out before taking his leave.

"I have heard few things about you Louisa Marie" Isobel smiled, taking the now spare seat next to where she sat

"Honestly? There isn't much to tell, I'm quite plain"

"I highly doubt that, Godric would not be so fond if you if that were true"

"He-" but she stopped; she didn't really have anything to say to that.

"Child" she shook her head "He would not spend as much time as he does with you if he found you uninteresting"

"I guess you're right, I just don't really know – it is quite hard to describe yourself to someone else. I just like to read books and paint"

"Two fine traits" Isobel nodded "I'm sure your work is very lovely"

"I'm starting to think so" she agreed

"And you did not before?" she asked with a tilt of her head

"No, not really, I guess you could say I lacked the confidence"

"No seventeen year old girl has full confidence in her abilities" Isobel said, and then her smile dropped for a moment "I want to apologies, my comments earlier were blunt and rude, and I should have said nothing"

"Oh no, no need, I wasn't offended"

"Truly?" she asked

"I just, it caught me by surprise that's all" she insisted "Nothing to forgive"

"Well I am glad. I hope whoever did this-" she caressed Louisa's now healed cheek fondly "-received what they deserve in return"

"A broken nose and probably a few fractured toes"

"He deserves a lot worse, but it is better than nothing. You hold your own quite well?" she asked

"I took a few classes, I am very far from the best but it's better than nothing at all"

"Very true, humans – as fascinating as you are can be quite fragile"

"I hope all is well?" Godric said, having appeared at the door once more

"Just discussing my amazing checkers skills" she smiled, and Godric laughed

"You do not laugh enough Godric" Isobel said "It is good to hear you laugh"

He did not respond though the faint smile that graced his lips did not disappear as quickly as it usually did.

"Did Stan give you any trouble?" Isobel asked

"No more than usual Isabel. Thank you for keeping Louisa company" he nodded his thanks and then returned to his seat.

"It was no trouble Godric" and as quickly as she appeared, Isabel was once again gone.

"You weren't gone for very long" Louisa commented

"The matters were of no importance" Godric dismissed with a wave of his hand "Now where were we?"

Godric and Louisa spent the rest of the evening to themselves and Isobel was the only other Vampire that she was formally introduced too, and after her leave they were not interrupted again. But she could not help but still wonder why he was here in the first place if he was only going to sit beside her and talk "It still confuses me" she grinned "Why bother coming to these things at all if you're only going to sit here and talk to me?"

"Making an appearance is better than not making one at all, but we're going to be leaving shortly"

Twenty minutes later she was in the passenger seat once more, feeling rather hungry and for the first time that night quite underdressed. As she had walked through the house for the second time she was not surprised to find that more Vampires had arrived; some were dressed in knee length dresses similar to the one that Isabel had been wearing and others had even worn evening gowns. She hoped her insecurities had not shown.

"You need to eat" Godric said with a shake of his head "It slipped my mind, I apologize"

"I'll just throw something together when I get home" She said "Honestly, I'm fine" After a couple of minutes she realized that she did not recognize where she was, or the little restaurant they then pulled up in front of "Godric you didn't-" But he was already outside and opening her door.

"I know, I but I wanted too"

"How did you find a restaurant that is open so late?"

"Quite easily, you'll see"

He held the door open for her as they walked in and she soon found that it was just as charming on the inside as it was the out. Each table was lit by a little candle and covered in a dark red tablecloth, the ceilings were high and the walls were decorated with various pieces of famous artwork she recognized form her old school classes.

"For two?" A waitress asked, she nodded her head and followed the girl as she led them to the very far end of the room. They were seated next to a large window that took up nearly the entire wall, but she wasn't going to complain considering the view was absolutely spectacular; it looked out onto an open field covered with various trees that were decorated in fairy lights.

"I don't think I have ever eaten somewhere this nice before" she admitted and tore her gaze away from the view beside her "You really didn't have to bring me here"

"It's no trouble; you need to eat" he smirked "Sometimes I forget"

Louisa picked up a menu and studied it for a moment, her mouth watered at some of the chicken dishes as they had always been her personal favourite – she couldn't even remember the last time she had eaten something that wasn't rice you could heat up in the microwave or something on the run from work.

"Everything looks so good here" she mumbled "I don't know how I am supposed to choose"

But alas, the waitress soon wandered back and she finally pinpointed what she was going to have.

"May I please have the Herbed Chicken Parmesan?"

"Of course – and for you?" the waitress asked as she turned to face Godric

"A glass of AB negative if you have it" he murmured

After the waitress took her leave she studied the quiet restaurant, three other tables were occupied but other than that the room was fairly empty. It only took her a moment, but she suddenly realized why the place was open so late "This is a Vampire restaurant" she stated, and when she looked back to Godric she saw him nod "Makes sense as to why it's open so late"

"Personally it is one of my favourites, it's never very busy and that is something I enjoy"

"But-" she began, but stopped herself before she could finish "Never mind"

"Continue" he insisted

"No, it doesn't matter" she blushed

"Louisa-" he leaned forward in his chair, but only just a little "Please, voice whatever is on your mind"

"I just, I don't understand why you come to Gemma's diner so often when you could be here instead" she said, and as he continued to stare at her she broke eye contact, her nerves were back in full force "This place is absolutely beautiful" She waited for an answer, but it was after the waitress had placed her food in front of her before he began to speak.

"Humans are so fascinating" he began "I spent a very long time thinking otherwise, and I did more than a lot of things that I regret – it must sound a bit odd but I simply enjoy the presence of humans more than I do my own kind"

"It doesn't sound odd at all" she smiled "Now tell me a little bit about your prodigy Eric while I hopefully, eat everything I have on my plate"

"Eric" he smirked "He would like you"

"Would he?" she asked "Are you sure?"

"I am quite positive. He's tall, blonde and quite the force to be reckoned with you chose to cross him. He has a way with a woman or a man on the occasion and will go to great lengths to get what he wants when he wants it"

"Let me take a guess" she smiled between mouthfuls "He doesn't like it when he does not get what he wants?"

"Eric always gets what he wants" he smiled. They continued talking about Eric until well after her plate was taken away, and it was only when she yawned did she realize that they had been sitting at the table for nearly two hours and his glass was still as full as it had been when it had originally arrived.

"I think I should get you home, come on little one – you need sleep"

"Not really, I'm a bit of an insomniac"

"I didn't know that" he murmured

"Well, maybe I'm not anymore. After you uh-" she paused for a moment and glanced towards him "Gave me some of your blood I slept for close to seven hours, I haven't slept that long since I was about ten"

"Healing is one of the many effects" Godric admitted "I am sure you will be able to work most of them out in the coming weeks"

"But I only had a little" she frowned "It was barely two drops"

"I am quite old; remember" he smirked "Anymore and it may have sent you on a high"

"A what?" she exclaimed

"High, humans can get high off of our blood" he explained as he sped down the dark and deserted streets "Excessive amounts have to be ingested of course. Don't fret Louisa; I would never put you at such a risk"

"I can't believe that" she continued

"It is illegal of course" he continued "But that doesn't stop most of our kind"

"It must be expensive"

"Quite expensive" he agreed "Which is why it is, not common – but not rare either that my kind are found drained"

She could not help the gasp that escaped her throat "Drained? As in drained of all their blood?"

"Yes" he smiled sadly "We may be strong, but we all have weaknesses"

"That is despicable; I can't believe that people would do such a thing"

"We are monsters Louisa"

"No, you're not" she refused to admit it, to him and to anyone that happened to ask her "You are not a monster Godric. Not to me, and you will never, ever hear me say the words"

If she had looked at him, she would have seen him staring at her with a look of curiosity and admiration his face – but instead Louisa Marie found herself drifting to sleep in the passenger seat of his car.


	8. the Date

Restless  
Chapter 7 – the Date  
Word Count: 3,987  
Note: I know, two updates within practically the same day! This chapter contains adult content so beware! The M rating officially begins here! I also do not own True Blood – only the characters I have created to make this story possible.

I also want to give a massive shout out to those who are constantly sending me messages and telling me how much of a good job I am doing; my muse for this story has picked up so damn quickly over the past couple of days and all I have been spending my time doing is writing and the reviews truly do help this.

For those who have also read my other story Chasing Ghosts; I am truly sorry that I have not updated but I just cannot write anything new, when I try I sit in front of a blank word document. It seems as if my muse is only wanting to work for one of my stories in this current time – but this does not mean that I have given up.

 **-0-**

Louisa wished she could say that she could not remember the last time she had ever been this nervous, but she could, she was just as nervous as she had been the night before when she had been with Godric in his house. But was she as nervous as she was last night? Who knew, but it didn't matter that much because in ten minutes Rob would be here and she would be going on her very first date. God she hoped she had dressed okay. At the thought she looked into the mirror once more and studied her appearance thoroughly. Her boyfriend jeans were new and had various rips throughout the entire length, they were cuffed just above her ankles and she had paired them with a white long sleeved t-shirt that sat just above her belly button. The two went nicely together she had to admit, especially seeing as her jeans were high-waisted. Her hair was just as good as it had looked the night before, so that did not need much work and she had kept her makeup to a minimum.

She walked into the main living area of her apartment and took a seat on her couch and decided to wait patiently until Rob arrived. This morning when she woke up she was tucked into her bed and she didn't know what shocked her more – the fact that she had slept in until four o'clock in the afternoon or that she had fallen asleep in Godric's car and had woken up inside her apartment. Had he carried her in? He must have done – and the thought alone was enough to make her turn bright red.

Another thing that made her completely and utterly embarrassed was the dream she had before she woke. It had been so intense, and so real that she had woken up panting and drenched in sweat – and it involved a particular Vampire that she knew. Never, ever had she had dreams like _that_ before last night and the whole thing made her awfully confused – because Godric was her friend, and that was all. Not to mention the fact that she was also going on a date tonight and the boy she was going on a date with was not the boy she was having sexual dreams about. As soon as she woke she hopped into the shower and allowed the cold water to run over her skin for nearly ten minutes, but it did little good to the lasting effects on her body. She was left feeling quite empty and longed for something that she did not even know how to begin to describe – and that scared her more than she was willing to admit.

A knock at her door interrupted her from her thoughts, and the butterflies in her stomach were once again back at full force. She made sure she had her keys, wallet and phone before making her way towards the door and smiled when she saw Rob on the other side. He wore a heather grey beanie, a long black t-shirt and beige khaki pants that were also cuffed at the ankle. She would be lying if she said that he didn't look amazing; even though he really was dressed quite simply. That was always the case though; Rob never needed to do much to look attractive.

"You look amazing" he grinned

"Thanks" she smiled "Seeing as you kept where we're going for the night a surprise, I hope I'm not over or under-dressed"

"Nah, you'll be fine. Are you ready to go?"

"I am"

They walked down the three flights of stairs side by side and he even held the door open for her, then he walked towards the bright blue jeep parked just ahead. It was an older model, but it suited him quite well.

"I love your car – you know, Lila has a red jeep that's quite similar to yours"

"Yeah we were talking about it over work once, funny coincidence isn't it? Speaking of work, I don't think I've ever asked how long you've been working at Gemma's for"

"Six months" she mused as she took a seat in the passenger side "I landed it just a couple of weeks after I moved here"

"I still can't believe you live by yourself" he said as he started up the engine "Do you ever get lonely?"

"I don't get asked that question a lot" she admitted "Usually everyone just says how awesome it must be to have my own space. You know, I don't really get lonely anymore – it was something that was just so easy to get used to"

"It's not so bad though, right?" he asked, and she figured he was trying to change the topic to a brighter subject

"Nah, it isn't, not really anyway. I read and paint a lot and I prefer to do those in silence"

"You paint?" he asked, his tone full of surprise "So we have an artistic girl, that's good to know. You should show me some of you work sometime, I used to draw in school as well – I wasn't all that good but I loved it nonetheless"

"I'm sure you were good" she smiled "You know, I used to think I was pretty awful until I actually started showing people my work and now all I hear from Matt is 'So are you going to start selling paintings? Remember the little guys like me when you're earning the real cash'"

Rob laughed, and she couldn't help but glance towards him and admire the dimples in his cheeks as he did so "Of course he says that, typical of him isn't it?"

The conversation came easy, and she was so glad that it wasn't forced. She could think of nothing more awkward than a forced conversation or awkward silence on her first date. Rob drove for another fifteen minutes before pulling into a carpark that was only half full which surprised her seeing as it was 7:20 on a Saturday night "C'mon, I'm going to show you one of my favourite places in the world" he said.

Rob didn't hold her hand, and for that she was grateful and as they walked side-by-side they continued their prior conversation from the car ride. It's not that she would not have appreciated the gesture of him holding her hand, but she didn't know how fast she was supposed to go in this situation or what he even wanted from her in the first place. As she let him take the lead beside her she tried to silence her thoughts. They walked along the road and Louisa continued to follow Rob as he led her down an alleyway, a couple of minutes later she was surprised to find that they were on pathway near what looked to be a small beach.

"Where did this even come from?" she asked in amazement

"Secret" he grinned, "This isn't the best part though"

They followed the path and Louisa couldn't help but slow down so that she could look into all the little surf shops and cafes that they passed as they went along – suddenly Rob stopped and smiled at her "I have never taken anyone here before, I found it a couple of months ago and have been a regular ever since"

Louisa turned and smiled brightly when she realised she was standing outside of a vintage arcade, the inside was dark yet lit with every colour you could possibly imagine due to the amount of arcade games that went on as far as her eyes could see. As they walked inside she grew even more excited when she realised that they not only had vintage arcade games but more modern ones as well – it had been years since she had been inside of an Arcade. If she was being honest with herself, she could not help but feel grateful that he had not taken her to a fancy restaurant – this was simply ten times better.

"I hope that this is alright" he began and when she looked at him she could see that he was nervous "I mean, I wanted to go somewhere fun. The whole dinner and a movie thing is just such a stereotype you know"

"It's perfect, but I think you're going to be regretting your decision once I slaughter you in air hockey"

Rob blinked for a moment before sending her a grin of his own which made her breath catch in her throat – he truly was quite an attractive boy "You sure about that? I'm pretty good if I don't say so myself"

"We'll see Rob"

They walked over to the empty air hockey table and she inserted a few coins and watched as the table came to life before her, the puck appeared in the slot before her and she placed it on the table before meeting Rob's eyes "Don't say I didn't warn you" she grinned, and with as much speed and precision that she could muster she smacked the puck and watched as it soared passed his own mallet and into his goal. She had always loved this game, more than any other arcade game and she had always been quite good at it, she was just thankful that she had not lost her touch.

Rob looked impressed, and before she knew it he hit the puck straight back to her. They went back and forth and she was glad to know that he was not going to be a sore loser; she never really knew how to deal with those types of people. Every time she scored he complimented her, and every time he scored he raised his fist into the air. She ended up winning by two points and when she sunk the puck for the last time she jumped into the air "Yes!" she grinned "I told you I was good"

"I underestimated you" he admitted "I don't think I'm ever going to do that again. But I would love to see you try and beat me on the racing games"

They headed their next, and this time she did not gloat. Julian had always made her go on the car games with him and he always laughed when he beat her – as she sat down in the seat she could not help but smile at the memories "My brother was the best at these" she told him "And as much as I loved him it would always frustrate me when I'd lose"

"That's how it is when you have younger siblings that are better than you" he replied with a laugh of his own

"You have siblings?" she asked, choosing her preferred car and settings while she did – going with a vintage mustang in bright red.

"Had" he said, and she turned to look at him "My sister uh, died a couple of years ago, she always had really bad kidneys' and -" he paused "The doctors just didn't know what was wrong with her, and when they finally found out it was too late"

For a moment she could not believe her ears – _he had lost a sibling too._

"I'm so, so sorry" she said sincerely "I know that it makes, no difference but I know how you feel. My brother died six months ago, that's actually why I moved here"

"No shit?" he asked and met her eyes "Well, it's not the best thing to have in common, but hell. Are you alright?"

"I'm better" she nodded "And you?"

"I cope" he smiled "She'd kill me if I didn't"

"I know what you mean" and she did, because if Julian could see her from wherever he was now she knew that he would be quite proud. She still couldn't believe it though, of all of the things to have in common with someone. The race started and she soon found out that Rob was not lying when he said he had been good – they raced two tracks and in each of them he placed first while she placed third in one and fourth in another.

"I told you I was good" he mocked as he stood from the seat

"Ha-ha" she smiled "What next hot-shot?"

For a while they settled for some vintage games. Her first choice was Pac-Man and second was space invaders. Some of the time they would play separately without the company of the other and some of the time they watched while the other lost or won. Pong was her least favourite and she pouted when Rob made fun of how much she happened to suck – but her pouting soon turned into laughter because she knew how true his words were. They played two player pinball on various machines for nearly an hour, each refusing to admit that they had lost and needed a rematch immediately –it was the most fun she had in a really, really long time. Last but not least they ended the night with an incredibly close game of pool, which she won by successfully sinking the eight ball in the future right hand pocket.

"Thank you again for bringing me here" she smiled as they finally, after nearly two and a half hours she walked out into the open air "It is the most amazing place"

"We're going to have to come back" he said "But first I need some serious air hockey practise, there is absolutely no way I am letting you beat me again"

"Practise all you want, you'll never beat me in that game Rob. I'm just too good"

"I'm still getting over the fact that you beat me in pool too" he said as he ran a hand through his hair, beanie now gone so that his blonde locks swayed slightly in the evening breeze.

"If it makes you feel better it was a complete and utter fluke"

"That does make me feel a little better" he admitted with a short laugh "Hey, how do you feel about onion rings?"

Her eyes widened and her stomach grumbled, something she did not feel ashamed or embarrassed about "I have not had onion rings since I got here"

"Well we're going to have to change that, I know a joint that does some mean onion rings"

After leaving the arcade he took her to a small beach shack that apparently sold the best onion rings – and he was not wrong, and how she had missed the taste of one of her favourite fried foods. Not only did she chow down the onion rings, she finished three quarters of her chicken burger before finally admitting defeat as they looked out to the beach and talked about anything and everything. About how he wanted to study someday but he just didn't know what or where yet and about how she really would one day like to sell her art. Louisa told him about her love for watercolour paints and how she would like to do something with them one day, and he told her about his family and how he loved them all more than anything else in the world.

More importantly they talked about the siblings that they had both lost.

"Tell me about her" she asked

"She was a couple years younger then me, and until I grew older I never really knew how blessed I was you know?" he began with a small smile "She had my hair, and my eyes – we looked so much like one another it was insane. And boy did she have this attitude sometimes to the point that even when I wanted to be mad with her I couldn't because I was just so impressed that she could channel our mum the way that she did" and then he laughed, and it made her happy – that someone who has lost all that he has could still smile and laugh at the memories "I love her more than anyone else in the world and I think that I always will, and as much as I struggled with the loss for the first year I'm just happy that I've been able to come to terms with it all now you know?"

"Yeah, I do" Louisa smiled faintly

"Tell me about your sibling" he said "Though you don't have too, I know that you only lost him not long ago"

"No, it's fine" she nodded "Julian was the best thing that ever happened to me, from the first moment I was able to hold his tiny little body in my hands the day that mum gave birth to him. I loved him, more than I had ever loved anything and every chance that I could I spent with him. We'd read comics together, play video games together or just go for a walk together because we were bored. He had these huge ears too – absolutely huge and I used to make fun of him all the time; though he never minded, not at all"

At 11:58 she walked through her door and turned around to wish Rob a goodnight.

"I have had, the most fun night" she grinned "I honestly can't remember the last time I had such a good time"

"That's all that matters" he smiled, and the he leaned in and hugger her. It was just as intimate as it had been on the night of Matt's party, and before she knew it she was hugging him back "Sleep tight Louisa, I'll see you on Tuesday at work"

He did not rush things and kiss her, and for that she was glad. She hadn't lied, she did have the most amazing night – but she wanted to take things slow. She walked inside and stripped until she was left in her bra and underwear, she then pulled on an old t-shirt and hopped straight into bed. For the first time she left her apartment hours ago she checked her phone and found three messages from Julie and one message from Matt.

 _Let me know how it went as soon as you get home – J_

 _I take it back, let me know now, I am dying here – J_

 _I also want a play by play recap of the entire night from when you stepped foot out of your apartment until you got home safely into bed – without the company of a lovely blonde I hope. You make him wait you hear me! – J_

 _Please use condoms. I do not want to be a godfather yet – Matt_

As she re-read the texts she could not help but laugh out loud before sending her replies.

 _Julie, I would have sent you a text sooner but I just got home. He picked me up on time and took me to this amazing arcade on this secret, hidden beach. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun – please don't take offense to this. We ate amazing food while looking out onto the beach. I'll have to give you that recap when we work together next, because my fingers and eyes are growing tired even now. And no, we are not in bed together – actually, he did not even kiss me goodnight or hold my hand (please don't get mad at this either, I am actually happy that he didn't make a move). I'll see you Monday, sleep tight._

 _Matt – you are so funny I nearly forgot to laugh._

Once she placed her phone down on the little bedside table beside her she felt herself drifting off after only a few minutes, once again she could not help but feel thankful once again for the effects of Vampire Blood.

 **M rating, beware**

"Louisa"

She jerked awake to the sound of Godric's voice and her eyes widened when they saw that he was indeed beside her, dressed in his usual cotton and sitting on the edge of her bed. How the hell had he gotten inside of her apartment? She locked the door when she had arrived home. As she looked outside she saw that it was still dark, the blood must be wearing off if she was back to having only a few hours' worth of sleep.

"Godric, what are you doing here? How-"

"Shh" he mumbled, and then he leaned closer "Don't worry little one"

"But-"

But Louisa could not finish her sentence, because he had silenced her with a kiss and seconds later she was kissing him back. It was so surreal and her mind wondered to how he could have possibly gotten inside without breaking her door of its hinges, but her thoughts soon disappeared when she realised that he was pulling her onto his lap. Before now she had not realised how much she wanted this - the proximity and the heat of it all the feel of his body so close to hers. Her arms moved on their own accord and soon they found themselves around his neck, moments later she felt his hands move slowly up her backside and slip just under the bottom of her shirt; Godric broke the kiss for an instant only to remove her shirt completely before moving back to her lips once more.

Her first kiss – Godric was her first kiss and even though she was completely and utterly inexperienced she found that she cared very little about the fact that she was on top of him dressed in nothing but her underwear. That didn't matter, no not at all - not really, not when it felt so good – not when all she cared about was how good he felt beneath her. She gasped into his mouth as he rolled her over so that he was now above her, and when she opened her eyes the first thing she noticed was his smirk – the effect it had on her was one she could not explain and it settled in the very pit of her stomach. It was as if there was a knot at the very base of her stomach and as he continued to smirk down to where she was it grew tighter and tighter as each second passed. Instead of moving back to her mouth he planted hot, wet kisses all the way down her neck and to her collarbone and as he continued along his path she suddenly became aware of the ache between her thighs. She wanted him to help her relieve it – no, she _needed_ him to help her relieve it.

"I – I need-" but she gasped, the sudden sensation of his teeth against the nape of her neck caused her to choke on her words.

"What do you need" he murmured into her skin, voice rough and full of what she guessed to be lust "I will give you anything you want, anything you ask of me"

"I need you to -" but she paused again, because she did not know how to ask him to help her, she simply didn't know what she needed

"I think I know, little one – just relax"

The way that he had said the words, her nickname only made the ache in her core grow stronger and moments later she felt his hand between her legs – the only thing that separated them now was her underwear. She could not help herself as she squirmed, but stilled when he began to slowly rub her in a place that she had barely even touched intimately herself. Her moan in pleasure was also something that she could not help, she tried to be quiet she really did.

"Godric, I'm-"

 **End M rating**

Louisa Marie woke with a start, drenched in sweat yet again and with a very, very strong ache between her thigs. She also realised two things, one was that she did not think that the dreams were going to go away anytime soon and two was that her feelings for Godric may not be so friendly after all.

 **-0-**


	9. the Double Date

Restless  
Chapter eight – the Double Date  
Word Count: 4,402  
Note: I have been receiving so many kind words over the past week – I can't thank you all enough, I do really appreciate the feedback! I was very happy that one reviewer in particular spoke about the whole Texas/beach date thing which I am fully aware of. To keep it simple when I started writing the last chapter I had this imagine in my head of how it was going to go and once I had finished writing it I thought; well shit, Texas do not have beaches. And I didn't change it. I was so happy with the chapter that I simply couldn't and for that I apologise! It's a little difficult writing a story that is set in place in a Country that you have never been to but nonetheless I would like to make note that I am very aware that the date was very unrealistic – from here on now I am going to try extra hard to keep this story believable. On another note who do you all think that my OC's look like actor/actress wise? I have a few picked out in my notes but I would love to read your opinion  
I know I sound like a broken record but please keep on reviewing! Tell me what you like or even dislike, I love hearing the feedback and with that last note I shall leave you all to it.  
Disclaimer: I do not own True Blood.

 **-0-**

"Can I have fries instead of salad?"

"Of course – would you like anything else?" Louisa replied and barely noticed as the man in front of her as he shook his head and walked towards an empty table, a moment later she gave the guys in the back the order and went along her normal routine in an absolute daze. It was as if lately she wasn't even human especially whilst she was at work and as each day passed she was beginning to feel more and more like a robot. But she couldn't help it, every time she had a moment all she could do was think about the dreams she had been having every night since she had tasted Vampire Blood and was made matters even worse was that the boy she happened to be dating was not the guy she was dreaming about.

To say she was confused was a complete and utter understatement; Godric was her friend and Rob – well, he was Rob and she liked him. _Like him, I like him – present tense not past_ she thought as she leaned forward against the counter. He gave her butterflies, he was kind and polite and not to mention far too good-looking for his own good. Yes, she liked him – so what was the problem? Why was she dreaming about someone else?

"Are you okay?" Julie asked "You've been off all week ever since your date with Rob, do you need to talk about anything?"

Louisa stopped staring into space and turned to look at the girl she considered to be her closest friend; her hair tonight sat in two messy French braids with a simple pink lip-gloss being the only item of makeup she wore. She looked natural and it was such a rare sight that Louisa couldn't help but admire it. Then she turned towards where the large wall clock hung on the far wall, it was 9:30 and the dinner rush was technically over – she knew she had the time to talk, but where on Earth would she start?

"Jesus" she sighed "Where do I start?"

"Well, start with what's bothering you" the blonde laughed, "You're never this quiet, I'm beginning to worry about you"

"Rob is – Christ Julie he is amazing, close to perfect even. We had this fairy-tale first date and it's no wonder considering how funny he is, how real he is and how much we have in common"

"Not to mention a complete babe" Julie grinned and in return to that Louisa rolled her eyes

"That helps too" she nodded "But looks aren't everything"

"No they're not. But I am sensing another but here" Julie prompted with an impatient wave of her hand "C'mon, out with it"

"I keep having these dreams, and in these dreams I am well, I'm with someone else. And that someone is not Rob. And the dreams aren't a one off thing; they're constant as in every single night I am having these damn dreams. I've never had dreams like this before; they seem so damn real which makes everything worse" Louisa said quickly in her embarrassment, much so that when she was done she had to take a breath

"Go on" Jules smiled kindly

"It isn't right" she sighed, "It is not right to be dating Rob and dreaming about someone else. I don't even know how I feel about – about this someone, and before these dreams I've only ever thought of him as a good friend. I mean, is it possible to have these dreams about someone and have no feelings for them at all?"

"It's Godric isn't it?"

"How-" Louisa began "How did you know?"

"If it was Matt you would have told me" Julie said knowingly "And I don't think you and Pete are that close, so process of elimination says it's Godric. Oh Louisa, I swear you're just too nice for your own good. You can't help these dreams, but at the end of the day I think you need to do what you think is right. Maybe you should give Rob another chance and see what you feel – or just tell him now that you don't think the dating is going to go anywhere serious. But keep in mind, just because you're having these dreams about Godric does not necessarily mean that you're in love with him"

 _Love._ She wanted to laugh at the thought, but she didn't, because she knew that there was no way on Earth that she was in love with Godric "What if it's awkward? With Rob I mean" she asked

"Well, I'm sorry love, but you signed up for that when you said yes to a date in the first place"

"I guess you're right" she mumbled "But I think you're right, just because I'm having these dreams doesn't mean I have feelings for them both. I will go out with Rob again"

"Good" Julie smiled "And if you're really nervous about it, just ask Matt and I to tag along"

"Huh?" she asked, rather shocked at the thought "Are you and Matt-"

"No" Julie said quickly, but she couldn't help but notice the red stain on her friends cheeks "No, not anything like that but you know, we could all just hang out"

"Julie – do you have feelings for Matt?" she asked seriously, but Julie didn't get to answer, because at that moment she walked towards the counter and smiled – at Godric.

"Evening" he greeted with a kind smile "Slow night?"

"Steady" Julie grinned, and from what she could see her smile seemed a little forced. Louisa suddenly hoped that she had not made her friend feel uncomfortable "AB negative? From what I remember anyway"

"Correct"

Julie busied herself with the blood, and Louisa couldn't help but smile at the Vampire in front of her. The last time she had seen him, well – they had been driving in his car and when she had woken up the next morning she was in her own bed. It took a lot, but she pushed the sex dreams to the very far corner of her mind as she walked towards the counter "I never got the chance to thank you for the other night" she began "So thank you, for everything – you should have just woke me up"

"Nonsense, I know you have a hard time sleeping" he replied "And it was no trouble"

They held their stare for a moment before Julie passed him his blood; he then turned and found his usual table "What was that about?" Jules asked

"After we uh, hung out last Friday I fell asleep in his car. It seems as if he carried me back to my place and put me in bed" she didn't bother trying to lower her voice, in the end if he wanted to hear what she had said he would be able to easily.

"Wow" Julie nodded and Louisa was quite thankful in that moment that her friend didn't say anything else

"So, I uh I'm sorry about before" Louisa frowned "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, it just kinda came out"

"It's, nothing really" Julie laughed, but her laugh sounded forced "Matt, he's just – he doesn't see me that way. We've known each other for three years now, and I am very happy to call him one of my closest friends and I have come to terms with the fact that is all we will ever be"

"How long have you been aware of the feelings?"

"Jesus – about two of those years or something ridiculous like that" Julie finished with a laugh

"Have you talked to him about it?" she asked, and while she waited for a response she began to tidy the counters

"No, and I don't plan too. Why ruin something so good?" Julie mumbled

"Well, if you want more – you never know he actually may feel exactly the same way"

"You know Lou; I could say the exact same thing to you"

She'd never know what it was; the double meaning behind Julie's words or the nervousness that the boy she was talking about was sitting in the diner with them – but it didn't matter because as soon as Julie had said them the container that Louisa had once held slipped from her grasp crashed loudly to the floor. Plastic straws in a variety of colours now littered the floor. When she bent down to pick them all up she wondered if she had ever thought about how Godric himself may feel– and she came to the quick conclusion that she hadn't. Because there was no possible way that a two-thousand year old Vampire had any feelings for her, it just didn't make any sense. That was if she actually _did_ have proper feelings for him in the first place. _I don't, it is just the dreams and physical attraction; that is all._

"Here, let me help you" And then he was there, in front of her and on his knees while he picked up straws. It was such an ordinary act but still it amazed her. His kindness was enough to make her eyes water but as soon as she felt that tears were soon going to fall she forced them away.

"Godric, you really don't have too-" But then in an instant a blur of motion passed her eyes and they were all picked up and standing in the clear, plastic container that they had been in before. He had been a blur; a literal blur and it left her gobsmacked.

"Holy shit" Julie laughed from behind them "I heard that you guys were fast, but that was just something else!"

Speechless, she was speechless and she stayed crouched on the floor until Godric held out his hand. When she grasped it she could not help but shiver at how cold his hands were, though it wasn't a completely unpleasant feeling, just something she wasn't used to.

"Thank you"

"It was my pleasure" She was still holding onto his hand, and she released it immediately once the horror set in. An awkward smile was all she could muster before she turned away to clean up the tables that hadn't already been done.

Her shift flew by quickly, and soon she was locking the door behind her and walking beside him in the dimly lit streets "I couldn't help but overhear the conversation between you and Julie"

Her stomach dropped, and instead of feeling awkward she now felt like she was going to throw up – what had he heard? _Please, please don't let him know about these damned dreams_ "In my past experiences, I believe that it is always best to be honest _especially_ when it comes to the topic of feelings"

She could not help but be thankful – so he hadn't heard about her dreams "Thank you for the advice" she nodded "I'll let you know how it goes"

 **-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

"Wait, I didn't think you were actually being serious" Louisa said followed by a forced laugh "We're actually all going out? And how exactly did Matt get out of his shift?"

"He didn't" Julie replied as she applied another coat of nude lipstick across her lips, she was standing in Louisa's bathroom while Louisa stood in the doorway "He finishes at nine instead of twelve tonight, Rob is going to pick him up and then they are going to come and pick us up – don't worry I have it all sorted out. C'mon Louisa, you have got to know by now that nearly everything I say is serious"

"Yeah but – but I didn't actually think we would be going on a double date" Louisa frowned

"It isn't" Julie said quickly, too quickly "Matt and I aren't dating, so we're just four friends hanging out is all"

"Well, just to let you know – I suck at bowling" she admitted

"I don't" Julie grinned wickedly "C'mon – your turn"

Julie of course had insisted on dressing her up like a Barbie doll so in to time at all there was a knock her door. It was warm outside and even though her blonde friend had tried to put her into something a little fancier Louisa was stubborn on wearing some denim shorts and a simple oversized black tee. There was no way that she would be wearing a skirt bowling, that would lead to disastrous consequences.

"Evening" Julie beamed as she let the two boys in "How was work?"

"Better now it's over" Matt grinned "I hear we're going bowling?"

"You heard correctly" Julie smiled "Boys against girls of course"

"And we will have no trouble leaving you both in the dust" Rob grinned, he then turned to Louisa "Unless of course you have some more hidden talents that I am not aware of?"

"Oh - no" she smiled "Actually, I rather suck at bowling"

"Pfft, we'll soon see" Julie smiled "And even if she does I'm good enough for the both of us. C'mon, we best go or they'll give our lane away"

Louisa and Julie rode in the back of Rob's jeep as they made their way to the bowling alley and the twenty minute drive was filled with Julie's voice as she sang along to all of the songs on the radio. Her happiness was contagious, and soon she found herself singing along to the songs she knew the lyrics too as well. When they arrived at the bowling alley the car park was nearly full, Rob scored one of the last free bays and after that they made their way inside.

It was busy but Louisa knew that simply from the car park outside. Fifteen lanes took up most of the space in the room and at the end of each lane was a large television that played music videos though the music itself was hard to hear over the loud chatter coming from the bowlers.

"Hi – I made a booking for four under the name of Julie" she said to the girl who was standing behind the counter though the girl looked as if she wished she could be anywhere else in the world but here. Without saying a word she retrieved the shoe sizes they all asked for and placed them on the counter before promptly walking away "Thank you" Julie said loudly at her backside, she then turned to Louisa and pointed to lane seven "It does not cost a dollar to be polite you know"

"Maybe she was having a bad day, you never know" Louisa shrugged and when they reached lane seven she sat down on the little couch and slipped into her bowling shoes. She had never seen the fuss with them, they were comfy and she had personally always thought they looked kind of groovy

"Still" Julie frowned; she was sitting across from her and eyeing her bowling shoes with distaste as she tied her laces "These shoes look gross"

"How did I know you were going to say something like that?" Matt grinned as he joined the spare seat beside her; he already retrieved his bright blue bowling ball and was passing it from one hand to the other "You ready to watch me show you how a _true_ champion does it?" He winked at Julie, stood to his feet and strutted his way towards the lane in front of them. As Louisa watched Matt prepare she leaned back into her seat and was surprised to find an arm around the back, one that belonged to Rob who had taken a seat beside her. Instead of looking at Matt while he prepared to throw his ball he was looking at her, she smiled as she stared into his very, very blue eyes.

"I'm happy I get to see you out of work so soon" Rob grinned "I was thinking that maybe when you're free next weekend we could go do something? Whatever you'd like, I'll take you"

"That would be great" and she knew she was probably smiling like an idiot, she simply did not care. Her attention once again was on Matt now and she watched as he aimed and sent the ball flying down the little ally – his aim was quite poor and in the end she had to hold back her laughter when he only knocked two pins down "What a tosser! I knew he was full of shit when he said he was practically a champion bowler" Rob laughed quietly and due to the noise around them he was now awfully close to her, closer than they had ever been before.

"That definitely sounds like something he would say" she shook her head and watched as he slumped next to Julie "Have you been working on your air hockey skills lately?"

"Low blow!" he cried out – it was now his turn and Louisa watched with Matt and Julie as he spared his pins in the second attempt "And yes, I have actually. I go down to that arcade every second or third day and every Sunday morning – you're more than welcome to come with me" he said once he returned to his seat beside her

"I'll definitely remember that" she smiled.

It was now Julie's turn and since she had not chosen a ball yet she was doing so now, the process took a couple of minutes but soon enough she stood before the lane with a bright pink ball in her right hand while she looked down at the floor and moved a little to the right. The blonde took two steps and released her hold; the pink ball zoomed down the lane in a straight line and hit the perfect strike "Now that my dear is how a true champion bowls"

Louisa laughed, she could not help herself and then she found her own ball (red of course) and stood at the beginning of her lane "C'mon Lou you go this!" Julie cried out "We are going to literally pulverise these guys"

"So much hostility for someone so tiny - where do you keep it all?" Matt asked

She bit her lip as she stepped forward and watched as the ball sailed towards the pins and knocked a good six down. Instead of waiting around for her ball to come back to her she played with Julie's instead and on her second attempt she was able to knock down another two. It had not been perfect, but hey, at least she had done a bit better than Matt "Alright Matty, now is this the part where you tell us all your first attempt was a warm up round?" she asked as she returned to her seat

"You know me too well" he grinned.

Louisa was not the best bowler, but it really didn't matter in the end because of how much fun she had. For the rest of the entire two games Matt made her laugh so much she had been in stitches at one point, not only because of the things that he said but because of the way that he mucked around – at one point he had even attempted to bowl backwards which had earned him a scalding look from the girl behind the counter handing out the shoes. Another time he even tried to throw the ball so hard it ended up in the lane next to ours; Rob had laughed so hard he nearly choked on the water he had been drinking at the time. Julie finished her two games with eleven strikes and nearly all of the rest had been spares, she made it seem as if it were the easiest thing in the world but deep down Louisa knew that she must come here a lot to be as good as she was. Rob came second to her in score and Matt was last.

"Well, it isn't about the score as long as you're having a good time" Matt frowned at the little screen above them that showed them the total for the night "Ain't that right Rob?"

"You wouldn't be saying that if we had won" Rob laughed "But yeah mate, that's right. Alright, well I have a pocket full of coins and a hunger for arcade games"

Louisa's eyes lit up at his words and only then, after hearing him mention the word arcade did she look to the further right hand corner of the room and notice a small section which had a small arcade – she grew even happier when she saw the air hockey table "So – rematch on the air hockey?" she asked him

"Of course" he grinned

While Louisa prepared for air hockey with Rob, out of the corner of her eye she could not help but watch as Matt began to play pinball while Julie stood beside him. Even if she did not know much about dating, or feelings at all when it came to such a relationship she knew what she had seen since the moment they had started bowling. Julie would drop everything and anything as soon as Matt would speak and every time he cracked a joke she would always laugh but the best thing was it was never forced. Matt on the other hand was harder to catch, but after paying close attention she noticed the way that he looked at her when he didn't think that anyone else was watching or how he would just stare at her with an adoring expression on his face when she had something to say (even if it was about how much he happened to suck at bowling). At first she had not been too sure, but after tonight she knew deep down inside that Matt absolutely adored her.

"If you're going to be staring at those two you're going to hand me a win" said Rob, and when she looked at him apologetically he laughed "Don't be sorry – as I won't be when I kick your ass"

Rob may have been able to score the first point, but after that it was an uphill battle. Their game went on for a lot longer than the last one had, each of them defended their goals like champions to the point that after ten minutes neither had scored more than four points. Louisa was faintly aware when Matt and Julie approached the table and they just happened to be the perfect distraction; Rob had looked away for only a second but that was all that she needed to hit the puck into the very corner of his goal.

"Shit" Matt said "You're good"

"Yeah, she is" said Rob, and even though she desperately wanted to look into his face she didn't. The uphill battle continued, and after another ten minutes Louisa was victorious with the end score being seven – four.

"Lucky you're gorgeous" he muttered "Or I'd be pissed about losing twice" and all she could do was smile, teeth and all which was a rarity "But hey, at least I beat you in bowling"

"Excuse me sir, you only beat me by nine points!" she defended "Looks like I'm the one who has to start with the practice"

"Oh my God" Julie cried suddenly, and for a moment Louisa was frightened something had happened to her – but when she looked she found that Julie was staring at her with an expression of pure excitement "Louisa It's your birthday this coming Friday!"

Louisa groaned and placed her head in her hands. Earlier this week Gemma had asked if she would want her birthday off – something that she knew due to all of the details she had about each of her staff members and Julie just happened to overhear. Her birthday was something she had not celebrated in quite some time and it was a tradition she was intent on keeping – but it was going to be a little difficult now that Julie, Matt and Rob knew "Oh Jules" she moaned "You just had to say something"

"Of course I did!" Julie replied "You're turning eighteen! We should celebrate!"

"No, definitely not" she laughed "It's just another day of the year"

"Poppycock" Julie frowned "We should do something"

"I really would prefer that we didn't, honestly, I don't really like celebrating my birthday"

"Why not?" the blonde asked, and even though all Louisa wanted to do was tell her friend the truth she bit her lip and cleared her mind. She refused to dampen everyone's perfect evening, she absolutely refused; her past was nasty and it was something she was more than happy to keep to herself.

"It's weird celebrating my birthday without my family" Louisa said quietly, and even though it was a bit of a lie it was half true as well "So I just don't celebrate it at all anymore, and it's fine – really" once she finished she expected Julie to argue her point, and was completely shocked when instead her friend hugged her.

"Well if you end up changing your mind I will make sure that I have no plans" Julie said brightly, but deep down Louisa knew she was a little disappointed "And I do not care what you say I am buying you a present"

"And at the bottom she will write _with love from Julie and Matt-_ "

"You will not be getting any credit for my gift" Julie snorted

"Jules, you are so selfish" Matt mumbled "Well it looks as if you'll be getting something from me too"

"No –I really don't need anything-"

"Poppycock, now you've set the challenge I just have to buy you something now" he insisted

"And anyway, until a couple of months ago you didn't own makeup" Julie frowned "So I beg the differ on the not needing anything part"

For the second time that night she faced an uphill battle, but instead of reaching the top victorious she lost. She agreed that her friends could buy her gifts, though she really was not happy about it. As the four friends walked back to the car this time Louisa sat in the front seat. When Rob's started the engine up and placed his hand on top of her own she tried not to move, when he entwined their fingers she closed her eyes and when his grip grew tight she forced a smile.

 _Forced_ she thought, _a smile should not be forced when the guy I'm dating decides to hold my hand._


End file.
